From the Executive Office of the President Office of Management and Budget 2002 Report

"The benefits of language-assistance services for particular LEP individuals,
while not readily quantifiable in dollar units, can be significant.
Improved access to a wide variety of services -
ranging from the delivery of healthcare and access to food stamps to
motor vehicle licensing and law enforcement -
can substantially improve the health and quality of life of many
LEP individuals and their families.
Moreover, [it] may increase the efficiency of distribution of
government services to LEP individuals and may measurably
increase the effectiveness of public health and safety
programs." omb website

Executive Order 13166Limited English Proficiency Resource Document:Tips and Tools from the Field

Introduction: Overview of the Document
and of the Federal Limited English
Proficiency Initiative

Over the last few years, the Coordination and Review Section (COR) of the Civil Rights
Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) has spent considerable time meeting with, training,
and learning from individuals working in sectors ranging from the justice system to the nonprofit
and social service providers, to federal, state, and local government, regarding the provision of
language assistance to limited English proficient (LEP) individuals. We have done so because we
are charged with coordinating enforcement and implementation of certain federal civil rights
laws that require entities that receive financial assistance from federal agencies, as well as federal
agencies themselves, to ensure that they are taking reasonable steps to provide meaningful
access for LEP individuals.

In June of 2002, DOJ issued guidance relating to language assistance pursuant to Title VI
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000d, et seq. (Title VI) and its accompanying
regulations. The guidance focused on recipients of DOJ financial assistance (primarily law
enforcement agencies, departments of corrections, courts, domestic violence service providers,
and entities having a law enforcement or juvenile justice mission). That guidance has served as a
launching point for COR's training efforts and discussions with federal, state, and other partners
on the subject of language assistance. Often these interactions and trainings have become
opportunities for sharing tips and tools from the field based on the experiences of recipients
and communities working with LEP populations. Sharing anecdotes of community solutions
that have been positively received, as well as sharing information about some of the drawbacks
of certain approaches, offers entities opportunities to make great strides in developing their
own solutions to language access concerns.

DOJ believes that this exchange of experiences more broadly is a useful tool for
enhancing access for LEP persons. This document furthers that sharing.

What Will You Find In This Document?

To develop this document, COR reviewed information collected in informal surveys of
court personnel, social service providers, police departments, 911 call centers, several DOJ
components e.g. the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, and the Office of Justice Programs), to determine how these organizations have
responded to the call for meaningful access for LEP individuals. This document lists many of the
tips, tools, and practices identified in our surveys. We highlight some agencies that have taken
an innovative approach or applied a strong policy or strategy to a particular aspect of language
services.

This document does not endorse or suggest that any particular program is legally
required. Nor would we presume to state that this project has encompassed all of the current
innovations in this area; local innovation will certainly produce additional successful practices.
Moreover, variations in size, resources, mission, and populations served mean that different
approaches will work for different agencies. The examples are, as described, consistent with
the goal of the DOJ LEP Guidance and with Title VI and regulatory requirements, but the
Department has not conducted an extensive review of the agencies providing these examples,
nor has it reviewed how all of the policies
and practices are being implemented in
practice. While we strove to provide as
comprehensive an approach as possible,
you might find that certain types of
interactions with LEP individuals are not
fully covered by these tips. Language
access coordinators and decision-makers
should consult the DOJ LEP Guidance, discussed below, in conjunction with this document.
More work will be done to continue to seek out additional resources and strategies for
communicating effectively with LEP individuals.

For more information on the work of the Coordination and Review Section of the Civil Rights Division, visit our website.

What Is the Legal and Policy Background?

This document is part of a broader effort by the Department to share existing language
access resources, practices, and tools for recipients. It is inspired by, and reflects the work of,
entities in the field that focus on 911 call response, law enforcement, courts, and domestic
violence, as well as some federal program managers. The framework and grounding for
choosing the tips and highlighting particular aspects of the recipient programs is Title VI, the Title
VI regulations, and policy guidance issued by DOJ in this area.

Under Title VI and federal agency regulations implementing Title VI, recipients of federal
financial assistance have a responsibility to take reasonable steps to provide LEP individuals with
meaningful access to their programs and activities. Title VI and its accompanying regulations
prohibit recipients from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin.
Discrimination on the basis of national origin can occur if a recipient does not provide
appropriate language assistance to LEP individuals because these individuals, whose language is
usually tied to their national origin, will not have access to the same benefits, services,
information, or rights that the
recipient provides to everyone
else. Thus, in certain
circumstances, failure to
ensure that LEP persons can
effectively participate in or
benefit from federally assisted
programs and activities may
violate Title VI and its regulations prohibiting national origin discrimination.

Executive Order 13166, titled "Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited
English Proficiency," required two things. First, it required federal agencies to take reasonable
steps to provide meaningful access for LEP people to federally conducted programs and
activities (essentially,
everything the federal
government does).
Second, under the
Executive Order, every
federal agency that
provides financial
assistance to non-federal
entities must publish
guidance on how those
recipients can provide
meaningful access to LEP
persons and thus comply
with Title VI and Title VI
regulations.

On December 18, 2002, the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights sent a letter to DOJ recipients of federal financial assistance and representative organizations, providing them with a copy of the DOJ LEP Guidance and asking them to spread the word about the need to provide meaningful access to LEP individuals. A copy of an article for newsletters can be found at: the COR website under newsletter article, or go to LEP home.

Pursuant to Executive Order 13166, DOJ published final guidance for its own recipients
on June 18, 2002. 67 Fed. Reg. 41455. DOJ's LEP Guidance assists recipients with fulfilling their
legal responsibilities to provide meaningful access to LEP persons. This policy guidance
provides a description of the four factors recipients should consider in fulfilling their
responsibilities to LEP persons. DOJ uses these factors in evaluating whether recipients are in
compliance with Title VI and its regulations. These four factors are:

1. The number or proportion of LEP persons in the eligible service
population;

2. The frequency with which LEP individuals come into contact with the
program;

3. The importance of the benefit, service, information, or encounter to the
LEP person (including the consequences of lack of language services or
inadequate interpretation/translation); and,

4. The resources available to the recipient and the costs of providing various
types of language services.

The DOJ LEP Guidance should be used in conjunction with this document. Appendix A
to the guidance provides additional information on how some DOJ recipients of federal
financial assistance, such as law enforcement, correctional institutions, courts, and domestic
violence programs, can apply the four-factor analysis. See 67 Fed. Reg. 41466-41472. The
guidance also discusses the value and possible format of written language assistance plans,
presents options for identifying language services and ensuring competency of interpretation
and translation services, and provides DOJ's insights on when translations of certain vital documents
should be considered.

Providing high quality and accessible services, benefits, information, and access to the
justice system for LEP individuals requires resources but is often critical. Moreover, often the
costs of failure to provide appropriate language access can be even higher than the costs of
providing a qualified interpreter, translator, or bilingual staffer. Convictions can be overturned
and defendants released for inaccurate interpretation
during interrogation, evidence development, or
testimony. Victims and witnesses may be unable to
provide law enforcement and emergency responders
with accurate information, resulting in additional
human and financial costs. Poor translations may
require expensive revisions and reprinting, or result
in inaccurate information exchange. Thus, in addition
to the legal requirement to provide meaningful
linguistic access, recipients and others have many
additional incentives to avoid initial non-compliance.

LEP.gov is the website of the Federal Interagency Working Group on LEP. The website is intended to serve as a clearinghouse that contains useful information, guidance, demographic links, and resources for recipients, agency representatives, community members, and other stakeholders. This website is frequently updated to provide new tools that will facilitate language access.

In addition, there are many productive steps
that the federal government, either collectively or as
individual grant agencies, can take to help recipients
reduce the costs of providing language services
without sacrificing meaningful access for LEP persons. To that end, DOJ has provided and will
continue to provide assistance and guidance in this important area. DOJ has established and
oversees a Federal Interagency Working Group on LEP, which has developed a website,
LEP.gov, to assist in disseminating this information.

The Civil Rights Division is also working closely with DOJ funding components to ensure
that language access measures are considered in the funding and monitoring of recipient
programs and activities.

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the Office for Justice Programs
(OJP) is responsible for ensuring that recipients of financial assistance from OJP and the Office
of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) comply with civil rights laws that prohibit
discrimination on the basis of national
origin, including limited English
proficiency. Since the DOJ LEP Guidance
was issued, OCR has provided training to
representatives from hundreds of
organizations funded by OJP and COPS
on providing services to their LEP
communities. OCR has also recognized the value of the information exchanged during these
interactions and has passed along some of these tips and tools from the field to the Civil Rights
Division and incorporated them into its training presentations. OCR conducted a number of
compliance reviews of law enforcement agencies regarding their level of services to LEP
persons. Through these reviews, OCR was able to see a number of promising approaches to
providing services to LEP populations up close and gauge their effectiveness through interviews
with the affected LEP communities.

For more information on the work of the Office for Civil Rights of the Office of Justice Programs, visit the OJP website.

The Civil Rights Division is committed to providing the necessary LEP training and
technical assistance to all interested stakeholders. These services are provided primarily by the
Division's Coordination and Review Section
(COR), which is responsible for
coordination and implementation of the LEP
initiative throughout the Executive branch.
To date, COR has conducted over 50 LEP
trainings at the federal, state, local, and
community levels, and will continue to do
so as the need requires. COR has also
worked with the United States Department
of Health and Human Services and the Food
and Nutrition Service of the United States
Department of Agriculture to develop a
video on the application of Title VI to LEP
access issues, including vignettes regarding
emergency 911 services, law enforcement, foodstamps, and healthcare. To request a training
session on LEP, brochures, a copy of the video, or for other technical assistance, please call
COR at (202) 307-2222. TDD: (202) 307-2678.

Additional technical assistance tools include brochures which can be found on LEP.gov and a LEP video, which is an excellent companion to COR’s general Title VI video. The LEP brochures and video were created in partnership with the Food and Nutrition Service of the Department of Agriculture, and the Office for Civil Rights of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

With this background, we invite you to delve into the heart of this document - the Tips
and Tools Chapters. We hope that this document will spark your creativity, provide examples
you can replicate, and reaffirm what is already working for you as you endeavor to
communicate effectively with all community members, regardless of language or national origin.

Chapter 1: General Tips and Tools Common
to Courts, Police, 911 Call Centers, and
Domestic Violence Specialists and Service
Providers

Whether you are a police officer, outreach worker, judge, intake worker, or emergency
responder, chances are that you or your colleagues have encountered a limited English
proficient (LEP) individual in carrying out your basic tasks. Having a strategy in place to deal with
LEP issues effectively makes sense: it allows for cost-efficient and timely services that comply
with the law and meet the needs of the public.

This General Tips and Tools Chapter
provides Department of Justice (DOJ)
recipient organizations, regardless of their
primary mission, with a survey of strategies
to deliver services to LEP community
members. In reviewing the strategies that
organizations used, we have found
similarities cutting across disciplines and professions. One of the most important steps for
effective communication is to set a policy and create a coherent plan for communicating with
LEP individuals that includes a number of these common strategies. They are outlined in this
chapter and are divided into five basic steps:

A. Determining your organization's language service needs;

B. Identifying language resources to help you meet those needs, and ensuring that
personnel know how to access and effectively utilize those resources;

C. Familiarizing and training staff and managers with effective and innovative
methods of communication with LEP individuals;

D. Implementing and enforcing quality control measures to ensure that you are
communicating accurately and effectively with LEP community members; and

E. Conducting outreach to ensure that all community members, regardless of
national origin or language, know that they can access your program, and can
provide feedback to you on the language services you provide.

The five common steps are reflected in each of the chapters. You will notice some
duplication of tips in order to emphasize certain practices in the context of particular types of
recipients, but we have minimized this to the extent appropriate.

While this document focuses on various types of DOJ recipients, the strategies outlined in this General Chapter should be helpful to a wide variety of other organizations as well.

We hope that this General Tips and Tools Chapter will help you create, refine, and
implement a plan to address a number of the LEP issues you currently face on the job. Once a
plan has been established and implemented, it should be reviewed and updated as
demographics, language resources, and other factors evolve.

Keep track of the languages you encounter on the job through a record-keeping method that is consistent with your agency's practice. Data
should be reviewed to determine your agency's immediate language
needs.

There may be LEP communities that you are not reaching and that should
be included in your assessment. These populations may need additional
outreach in order to participate fully. Include seasonal workers,
vacationers, motorists, and visitors in your assessment. (See Section E below).

For Spanish speakers, the 2000 Census,
provides detailed information down to census tract level and
below as to the English ability of persons over the age of five who
speak Spanish at home. Be aware of potential under-reporting,
and account for the possibility that the community you serve may
be larger than estimates predict.

For languages other than Spanish, the most detailed data on
English ability from the 2000 Census is reported only in terms of
general language groups (e.g., Asian/Pacific Islander, Indo-European, Other). In such cases, more refined predictions of
potential LEP populations can be made by combining the
language data that is available with other demographic data
closely associated with language, such as ancestry, citizenship,
foreign-born data, and prior residence. Access such data through
American Factfinder, an interactive
demographic mapping service maintained by the Census Bureau.

Tables and maps of the thirty most commonly-spoken languages
(which include languages spoken by individuals who also speak
and understand English) can be found at the Census website . The tables provide
information down to the zip code level.

The U.S. Department of Education and school districts maintain
data on languages spoken in the local public school systems.
Schools should also have knowledge of the LEP parent population.
See fastfacts and
education statistics.

Some agencies contract with the Census Bureau to conduct
special counts of census data for particular demographic
characteristics. For instance, the U.S. Department of Labor
maintains a demographics tool broken down by Workforce
Investment Area (WIA). The data sorts the number of people who
speak one of 39 different languages by WIA and by state. Some
limited social demographics such as education, employment
status, and income are also provided for each group. The
information is in Excel worksheet format, and can be
downloaded in total or by specific state or workforce area. This
information, and other technical assistance products for the
workforce system, will be made available through Department of Labor website in the very near future.
The project is a joint endeavor of the Department of Labor,
Berkeley Policy Associates, and the Census Bureau.

Community, ethnic, and faith-based organizations can assist you
in identifying LEP communities in your service area. Include such
organizations in an "advisory committee" as part of your
continuing efforts to respond to LEP issues.

Similarly, check with local interpretation and translation
associations to determine which languages are most frequently
requested. Ask for general information on the purposes for
which interpretation and translation services are sought (e.g.,
medical, legal, immigration, or other purposes).

Want more info?

Consult Chapter 6 of this document, entitled "Tips and Tools
Specific to DOJ Federally Conducted Programs and Activities," for
a more detailed analysis of the use of census data and special
counts.

Devise a written plan to meet the needs of LEP individuals in your area.

Helpful considerations include the four-factor analysis guiding the
implementation of the Title VI language access requirement:

The number or proportion of LEP persons eligible to be served or
likely to be encountered;

The frequency with which LEP individuals come into contact with
your programs/activities;

The importance of your program, activity or service to people's
lives;

The resources you have at your disposal and costs of
implementation.

Formulate and distribute a written plan with instructions to staff on
accessing interpretation, translation, and other language resources to
serve LEP individuals. Your plan should address the various types of
contact your staff have with LEP individuals. Your plan will minimize
confusion and ambiguity when situations involving LEP individuals arise,
and will enable your agency to determine training, administration,
planning, and budgeting needs.

The approach you identify in your plan may be different for less
commonly-encountered languages than it is for languages encountered
more frequently in your community.

Give priority to first-response units and other services involving access to
important benefits, services, information, or rights. The more serious the
consequences, the more likely competent language services are
necessary.

Review, update, and refine your plan on a regular basis and as language
group demographics and agency capabilities change. Do so in
consultation with community groups and other stakeholders.

Want more info?

Consult the handy self-assessment tool available at the
LEP.gov/selfassesstool.htm . This assessment asks
crucial questions to enable you to determine the responsiveness
of your program or activity to the needs of LEP individuals, and
provides guidance on key elements of a written plan.back to top

B. Identifying Language Resources to Help You Meet Your
Needs

Differentiate between the many types of language service providers
available, and determine which combination is appropriate for your
program.

An interpreter listens to a communication in one language and orally
converts to another language while retaining the same meaning.

A translator replaces written text from one language into an equivalent
written text in another language.

Bilingual individuals have the ability to use two languages. A bilingual
person can learn to become a translator or an interpreter, but is not
automatically so qualified by virtue of his or her language abilities.

When selecting services, consider the strengths and limitations of various
language service providers.

For instance, a bilingual person may be fluent and well-suited to having
direct monolingual conversations (e.g., ish to ish and English to
English conversations) in more than one language, but may not be skilled
at converting those conversations from one language to another.

In addition, some of your staff may be less than fully bilingual.
However, their language skills may still be helpful for limited
purposes such as outreach activities and basic conversation to set
people at ease or to provide simple directions in ways that do
not have significant consequences if accuracy is not perfect.

By contrast, professional interpreters and translators are generally
required to have undergone rigorous and specialized training.

Reflect on the importance of your services to the LEP community, the skill
level and training of your bilingual staff, and the complexity of the
communication, to determine whether the specialized skills of an
interpreter or translator are required.

Identify bilingual staff.

In-house multilingual staffing is a cost-effective way to provide language
services to LEP individuals.

APALC is an example of a non-profit organization in Los Angeles
adopting this approach. They have also worked with other
organizations to develop a coordinated approach to providing
language services to LEP individuals and to helping immigrant
victims who come into contact with the legal system. Consult
their publication Expanding Legal Services: Serving Limited English Proficient Asians and Pacific Islanders by Gabrielle
Hammond, November 2003. Click on
, or visit their website under "literature" to obtain this
document and other APALC resources.

In the social service setting, Safe Horizon, a New York City-based
victim assistance agency, has partnered with the NYU Center for
Immigrant Health to adapt medical interpreter curricula to the
social service context. For more information, contact Tanaz Pardiwala
Director of Community Organizing, at (718) 928-6953; TDD: (800)
810-7444 Hotline or email at tanaz_pardiwala@safehorizon.org

Some organizations and departments have instituted bilingual pay
incentive programs. Employees who pass a proficiency exam
and are willing to provide language services receive a bonus or
salary differential.

Keep in mind that bilingual staff who are often called upon to
facilitate communication with LEP individuals may find themselves
routinely diverted from their normal work assignments.

For more information on pay incentives for pre-screened
bilingual ability, consult The Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Fresno and the Fresno City Employees'
Associationat pp. 32-33.

Create a directory of bilingual staff and their contact information. If
appropriate for your agency's needs, bilingual staff and/or interpreters
having contact with the public can wear badges indicating the languages
they speak so that LEP individuals can easily identify such employees.

When bilingual staff provide or review written translations, they
can often benefit from collaborating with others listed in the
directory.

Untrained bilingual staff may not be versed in the standards of the
interpreting profession (e.g., role, code of conduct, modes of
interpretation, specialized terminology, etc.), resulting in
compromised accuracy and statements with potentially limited
evidentiary value. Both the agency providing services, as well as
the LEP individual, have administrative, safety, and enforcement
interests in accurately-rendered interpretation and translation
services.

Enable bilingual staff to access interpreter training courses and
translation and language skills training. Such access benefits both
your organization and the communities you serve.

Even when bilingual staff are used to provide direct services in a non-English language (rather than to provide interpretation), be sure to
institute quality control measures and provide professional development
opportunities to ensure that communication is effective and accurate.

Identify situations requiring the services of a professional interpreter or
translator.

Establishing relationships with professional interpreters, translators, and
other users of professional language services can help you to tap into a
pool of qualified individuals to contact when necessary.

Professional interpreters are trained to convey meanings accurately, avoid
conflicts of interest, and maintain confidentiality, impartiality, and
accuracy in the course of performing their professional duties.

Interactions involving a possible deprivation of liberty, such as
interrogations, should involve a fully-trained professional. Untrained
bilingual staffers or informal communication techniques should be used
only as a stop-gap measure to stabilize an emergency situation until a
professional interpreter (telephonic or in-person) becomes available to
assist.

In situations with legal implications in general, and criminal
implications in particular, the stakes can be very high. For
example, the terms of a temporary restraining order in a
domestic violence case should be accurately conveyed, both to
an accused batterer and to the alleged victim. Failure to do so
may result in unintended consequences, e.g., compromised
safety and/or misunderstandings leading to criminal liability.

Professional interpretation and translation services are available in most
cities. U.S. Attorneys' offices, state and federal courts, and FBI regional
offices often contract with such local interpretation and translation
companies. Contact such entities for lists of potential individuals or
companies. National, regional, and state interpreter and translator
associations also post lists of members by language and geographical
location.

For information on interpreter and translator associations, go to
the interpretation/translation section of LEP.gov.

Telephonic interpretation services can ensure resources when in-house
demand is high or immediate interpretation is needed.

Telephonic interpretation is particularly useful for officers in the field,
during 911 calls, or in other instances in which a range of languages could
be encountered and swift response is necessary. Telephonic
interpretation can be conducted utilizing a commercial telephonic
interpretation service, professional interpreter, or trained bilingual staffer
who cannot be available onsite (e.g., a police call at 3:00 a.m.).

Commercial telephonic interpretation services are helpful where in-house language capacity is insufficient or unavailable. Telephone
interpretation services are immediately available when crisis management
is required in a range of languages. Such services can provide a per-minute rate in a broad range of languages.

Monitor quality. Ensure that the provider you choose understands the
context in which you operate and can accurately interpret or translate
specialized terms you use, such as Miranda warnings. Other relevant
information may include the connection time necessary for telephonic
interpretation, and whether it is swift enough for your purposes.

Want more info?

Contact Xenia Freeman, Director of Safe Horizon's (NYC)
Domestic Violence, Crime Victim, Rape and Sexual Assault, and
September 11 Support Hotlines at xfreeman@safehorizon.org.,
for more information on the utility of telephonic interpretation.

Work collaboratively with community groups and academic institutions,
and train bilingual/multilingual community members, university professors,
graduate and law students, and language educators to provide language
services on an as-needed basis.

Identify potential sources of language assistance through local
community/ethnic organizations, university language departments, law
schools, and other logical venues.

On occasion, authorities have successfully used language educators and
community members to interview/debrief witnesses in the absence of
professional interpreters.

Recognize the potential limitations of using such individuals. For
example, a ish teacher may not necessarily be able to interpret
accurately during a beat patrol investigation

Make sure to implement other quality-control measures.

Want more info?

The Washington, D.C.-based Asian Pacific American Legal
Resource Center (APALRC) has created a "Legal Interpreter
Project" which focuses on training community members, law
students, and others to provide quality interpretation and
translation for other agencies in the area. The selection process
includes recruitment, training, testing, and monitoring. Refer to their website for detailed
information about this project.

Factor language assistance costs into your budget and planning process and
include interpreter and translator costs in grant applications and contracts.

C. Working with LEP Individuals

Create convenient and accessible points of entry for the largest language
minority communities, such as a dedicated telephone number for ish
speakers.

Such a telephone number could be connected to community outreach
units of courts and police departments and other organizations serving
many different language groups.

Alternatively, provide a recorded message in the most-commonly-spoken
languages in your service area, explaining how callers can access the
services you provide and receive language assistance if necessary. Post
this phone number where the target community congregates.

Be sure to provide a mechanism to enable LEP callers to access
emergency services in the event that they are calling regarding an urgent
situation. Courts and other agencies may also want to consider
mechanisms to enable LEP callers to immediately access the services
most often requested, such as information from the court clerk's office.

Don't make assumptions regarding an individual's first language.

For example, a Native American from primarily ish-speaking
Guatemala may not necessarily speak ish. His or her language may
be altogether different.
Make language identification flashcards (also known as "I Speak _______"
cards) available to LEP individuals, so that they can identify their native
languages for you.

The U.S. Census Bureau's version of these cards is available on
LEP.gov. Simply show these cards to LEP
individuals in order to determine native language, but account for the fact
that the LEP beneficiary may be illiterate.

Other federal agencies, such as the Social Security Administration (SSA),
have similar tools. The SSA has forms available to LEP beneficiaries in 15
languages. Access them by visiting their website .

Consider providing language assistance, even when you think an
individual's English is "probably good enough."

It is easy to overestimate the LEP person's English language skills,
particularly if he or she appears to understand you.

Also a person may not be LEP in some contexts, but may be LEP in others
(e.g., a person who can ask for simple directions in English may not be
sufficiently proficient to answer police interrogation questions).

When working through an interpreter, use short simple sentences that are
free of idioms. Avoid compound phrases, double negatives, rambling
phrases, colloquialisms, etc.

Examples of bad questions include: "You didn't say you wouldn't go
there, did you?" or, "And then, although you knew it was wrong, you
didn't, although you could have, stop him from what everyone knew was
a mistake?"

Always address the LEP individual in the first person and look at that
individual (not the interpreter) during questioning.

Be aware that excluding an LEP person during long conversations with
English-speaking individuals can sometimes convey negative messages.
Wait until an interpreter or bilingual individual can be present to explain the
communication to the LEP person and enable his or her participation.

Otherwise, the LEP individual may construe such communication as an
indication of bias.

Be creative in asking questions of the LEP individual - you may have to ask
the same question several ways before eliciting a response. Don't expect
your interpreter to "fill in the blanks."

Don't overlook and don't overestimate the power of pictures.

While not a substitute for a live interpreter, posting universal
signs/symbols can help enormously in temporarily bridging
communication gaps in a cost-effective fashion while awaiting the arrival
of an interpreter or competent bilingual staffer (e.g., a picture of a person
with a beard and one without might help get a quick description of a
fleeing suspect while an interpreter is being contacted, but may lead
police down the wrong path if more information is not obtained in a
timely fashion).

Over-reliance on pictures in complex, sensitive, or critical information
exchanges can lead to a breakdown in communication.

Recognize the different modes of interpretation, and the contexts in which
each is appropriate.

Simultaneous Interpretation - A speaker (judge, lawyer, conference
presenter, trainer, etc.) speaks in one language, while an interpreter
simultaneously interprets what is being said into the LEP person's or
audience's first language.

Example: During a court proceeding, an interpreter sits next to
the LEP defendant at the defense table and simultaneously
interprets from English into the LEP person's language (either by
whispering or using interpreting equipment) everything that is
being said by lawyers, judges, and witnesses in the courtroom, so
the proceeding can continue uninterrupted and the LEP person
can follow what is being said.

Consecutive Interpretation - The speaker (judge, lawyer, intake
worker, police officer, etc.) makes a statement or asks a question,
pauses, and then the interpreter renders what was said in the LEP
person's first language.

Example: During an interrogation, a police officer asks a
question, the interpreter interprets the question, the LEP person
answers the question in his or her first language, and the
interpreter interprets the answer back to the officer in English.
Consecutively interpreted sessions are of longer duration than
when simultaneous interpretation is used.

Sight Translation - On-the-spot oral translation of a document.

Example: A document must be understood and signed by an
LEP person before she can receive services from an organization
that represents domestic violence victims, but the LEP person
cannot read the document because it is in English. The
interpreter translates the content of the document aloud into the
LEP person's first language.

Consider and plan for the possibility that an LEP person may also have a
disability.

Bilingual staff and community members often do not have the training and
expertise of professional interpreters and translators. Provide staff and others
with training or arrange for bilingual employees or community members to
attend interpreter training courses and to participate in opportunities to
improve their language skills. Incorporate interpreter certification and
evaluation exams into your LEP plan for those staff used as interpreters . In
addition, evaluate and monitor language skills of bilingual staff used to
provide direct service in a non-English language or to translate documents

Where did you obtain your language skills (both English and the
other language)? Will you be able to understand and be
understood by the LEP person, who is from _____, or might there
be a dialect or geography-based language barrier?

Example: A Spanish-speaker from Latin America may have some
difficulty understanding some vocabulary or pronunciation of a
ish-speaker from Spain and vice versa.

Example: A person who speaks "White" Hmong may have some
difficulty understanding "Green/Blue" Hmong.

How long have you been a practicing interpreter/translator?

If not a practicing interpreter/translator, have you
interpreted/translated before and, if so, in what situations?

What specialized training have you received, or are you self-taught?

Are you certified by and/or an active member of any
interpreter/translator association?

[For spoken interpretation only] Are you able to perform
simultaneous interpretation (technique where the interpreter
interprets at the same time as the speaker)? Are you able to do
consecutive interpretation (where there is a pause between
language conversions)?

Do you know (the LEP individual)? Have you ever seen
him or her before?

What will you do if you don't understand something that [the LEP
individual] has said/written?

What will you do if you believe you have interpreted/translated
something inaccurately?

Do you receive continuing education?

Do you specialize in law enforcement, medical, educational, or
some other type of interpretation (oral) or translation (written)?

Do you have any background issues I should know about? (Be
sure to check!)

Professional interpreters are required to adhere to a code of
ethics emphasizing confidentiality; impartiality; accuracy;
avoidance of a conflict of interest; abstinence from
communication with the LEP person beyond that which is
necessary to carry out professional duties; and no adding to,
editing, summarizing, or embellishing the LEP person's statement.

Ensure that the parties understand each other.

For instance, does the individual providing language services
understand the LEP person and vice versa? Do you and the
individual providing language services understand each other?

You might consider asking a question that requires more than a
"yes" or "no" answer and, as appropriate, one to which you know
the answer, so that you can determine if effective communication
is going on.

Make sure that the LEP individual is comfortable with the person
providing language services.

Do the interpreter and the LEP individual seem to know each
other?

Do they come from traditionally adversarial communities? (This
should ideally be determined before a face-to-face meeting
between the interpreter and the LEP individual.)

Is there any affinity between the interpreter or translator and a
party who opposes your LEP individual's interests (e.g., if your LEP
individual is a victim of domestic violence, is the interpreter
somehow aligned with the batterer)?

Instruct the person providing language services and the LEP individual to
avoid having long dialogues between interpretations.

When dealing with professional interpretation services (telephonic or in-person), be sure to ask the following additional questions, and to
include appropriate terms in any contractual agreement regarding the
services and qualifications of the interpreters:

Is the interpreter familiar with specialized terminology used in
your field (e.g., American legal concepts such as Miranda
warnings)?

Does the interpreter have experience in the particular field (e.g.,
legal, medical, or other interpreting)? How much experience
does he/she have?

What is the cost? When entering into a contract with a telephonic
interpretation service or professional interpretation/translation
company, can the company offer services in a sufficient number
of languages to justify the cost?

Are the interpreters familiar with both formal language and
colloquialisms/street slang? Are the interpreters familiar enough
with the community to be able to interpret effectively? People
may share a single language, but speak it very differently.

What is the connection time necessary for telephonic
interpretation? Is it swift enough for your purposes?

Ensure that the person providing language services answers all questions in
the first person, as if he/she were the LEP person.

Also check out the website of the
Interpreters' Office for the United States District Court, Southern District
of New York, one of the sources for the tips above. This site can also be
accessed through LEP home.

Learn more about interpreter and translator standards in legal and quasi-legal settings from The National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and
Translators (NAJIT) at www.najit.org.

Consult the DOJ LEP Guidance at pages
41461 to 41464, for guidance on assuring quality control in interpretation
and translation.

E. Conducting Outreach

Form alliances with community-based organizations that serve your various
language communities. Such alliances can promote referrals and sharing of
expertise, and spread awareness about assistance available to affected LEP
community members.

Consider including representatives of such organizations on an LEP "advisory committee" to ensure ready access to resources, assistance,
and feedback.

Want more info?

Refer to the TAPESTRI feature box in Chapter 4 (Domestic Violence Service Providers and Specialists).

For more information on building programs that link and
train community interpreters with agencies needing
interpreters, see Section B (6), above.

Distribute important information at temples, mosques, churches,
synagogues, ethnic shopping centers, and other gathering places for non-native English speakers in your community.

Religious and ethnic organizations maintain their own internal
communications networks for their members, and often serve as safe
and familiar cultural havens for speakers of various languages. A
community relations officer may, for example, attend an on-site intake or
legal clinic conducted in partnership with a legal service organization.

Want more info?

Consult the self assesment tool for suggestions on
outreach and providing notice of your services to LEP persons.

Consider downloading and distributing the LEP "Know Your
Rights" brochure, soon to be available in several languages, from LEP.gov.

Consider partnering with media outlets (private television/radio stations and
print media, ethnic and foreign language media) to develop feature stories,
public service announcements, and dramatizations to deliver important
information to non-English speakers in your community.

Some entities, such as courts and law enforcement agencies, have
produced educational videos and other tools.

COR recently developed a LEP video. Call COR at (202) 307-2222 for a
copy.

The three-digit telephone number, "9-1-1," is the designated nationwide emergency
telephone number for all individuals throughout the United States to request emergency
assistance. The number enables fast and easy access to a centralized public safety answering
point that can dispatch emergency services, including police, fire department, and emergency
medical services. By virtue of the context in which emergencies arise, accessing emergency
services takes place in a stressful environment ripe for mis-communication. The trained 911
call-takers and dispatchers must be able to accomplish their mission despite this high stress.
Their task is easily compounded if the caller: (1) is wary of government because of unpleasant
interactions with the government in his/her country of origin or here; and/or (2) has no
familiarity with a government that provides a benevolent or helpful public service. When a caller
has a limited ability to speak or understand English, the vital nature of the call presents a new
and critical challenge.

Many of the general tips and tools set forth in Chapter 1 apply to 911 call centers as well.
The following are our additional recommendations specific to making 911 services more
effective and accessible to LEP communities. These recommendations are based on our
general survey of practices that many 911 call centers - including Miami, FL; Prince George's
County, MD; Allentown, PA; Fairfax, VA; Oakland, CA; and others - use to communicate with
callers who are LEP. LEP coordinators and decision-makers for 911 call centers should also
consult the DOJ LEP Guidance.

A. Identifying Need and Setting Policy

Formulate a written policy/procedure for communicating with LEP callers.

911 centers should have written procedures on communicating with LEP
callers as part of standard operating procedures for call-takers and
dispatchers. Such written procedures should specifically address the
process for connecting to the 911 center's telephonic interpretation
service or to the appropriate in-house bilingual staff.

Issue a Directive on the Importance of Communication with LEP callers.

In order for any written policy/procedure for communicating with LEP
callers to be effective, the head of the 911 center should inform all staff of
the vital nature of 911 services to LEP callers and the importance of
effective communication to the mission of the call center.

See Section A in Chapter 1, General Tips and Tools, for an in-depth
discussion of how to assess your LEP needs and create a plan to address
those needs.

Some 911 centers that have neither bilingual staff nor a contract with a
telephonic interpretation service, communicate with LEP callers by
accessing a city or county-wide language bank consisting of city or county
employees who are bilingual.

When bilingual operators are not available, contract with one of the several
available telephonic interpretation services.

Some centers rely solely on telephonic interpretation services, while
other centers use these services only when the caller's language is not
recognized as one spoken by in-house staff or when sufficient in-house
staff is not available.

Typically, under such systems, when a call-taker receives a call from an
LEP individual and recognizes the foreign language, the call-taker places
the individual on "hold" and contacts the interpretation service, usually
through a speed dial button that connects the call-taker directly to the
interpretation service. The call-taker asks for the appropriate language
interpreter and, once the interpreter is available, the call-taker then
connects the LEP individual to the call, so that there is a three-way call
between the call-taker, the LEP individual, and the interpreter.

Where the foreign language spoken is unrecognizable, the call-taker
places the LEP caller on "hold," and contacts the interpretation service for
help in determining the language. Generally, interpretation services
employ trained professionals who have expertise in determining the
language of the LEP caller. When the 911 call-taker informs the
interpretation service that he or she cannot identify the caller's language,
the interpretation service representative, who is trained to recognize
languages, identifies the language and connects the call-taker to the
proper interpreter. Once this occurs, the call-taker connects the LEP
individual to the call, so that there is a three-way call between the call-taker, the LEP individual, and the interpreter.

Assess your LEP needs by having a general understanding of the most
frequently encountered languages within the call center's jurisdiction.

Because of the critical nature of 911 emergency calls, it is advisable to use a
telephonic interpretation service that has trained its interpreters in the
handling of 911 calls. This can be negotiated as a contract term.

Some municipalities finance telephonic interpretation contracts with an
emergency service fee that all city/county residents pay towards emergency
services.

Make sure your call-taker knows how to say "please hold" or another
appropriate phrase in the most frequently encountered languages in your
service area. Some telephonic interpretation services provide material
on how to say "please hold" phonetically in several different languages.

Consider using music or some other appropriate "hold" message or
sound so that the LEP caller knows not to hang up.

If the caller hangs up and you have the phone number of the caller, call
back with the language service provider on the line as quickly as possible.

Adopt and employ standards and quality control measures to assure an
appropriate level of linguistic competency.

Test bilingual job applicants on their language skills, preferably under 911
simulated conditions, which are different from ordinary conversations in
content, cadence, and emotional intensity.

Test for demonstrated proficiency in English and the foreign language, the
ability to convey accurate renditions back-and-forth in each language, and
familiarity in both languages with specialized terms or concepts used in
emergency situations.

Where feasible, evaluate bilingual competency through city-wide testing
of all city employees.

Assess the efficacy of your language services by monitoring and by obtaining
feedback from the community and from dispatch units.

Have dispatchers inform the emergency response entity (police, fire
department, or emergency medical services) that the caller is LEP and
specify the caller's language. The emergency responders should also
have language assistance measures in place to interact effectively with the
LEP individual once they arrive on the scene of the emergency.

See section featuring the Miami 911 call center at the end of this chapter.

Create and distribute brochures in various languages about your services.

Brochures typically contain basic instructions for LEP individuals about
what to do when making a 911 call (i.e., identifying their language, name
and address, and type of emergency service required such as police, fire,
or ambulance).

Make and maintain contact with various language minority communities
through traditional community relations activities - reaching out to
schools, attending meetings of fraternal and social organizations, having a
presence at ethnic fairs and celebrations, providing information through
libraries and places of worship, and identifying several individuals or
organizations that serve as primary contacts and "points of entry" into
the language community.

Make contacts in migrant worker communities, since such populations also
include potential crime victims, litigants, and witnesses.

In order to conduct outreach to the migrant worker community, consider
developing language cards with instructions on using the 911 system
targeted at migrant workers and others who may not routinely call 911 in
emergency situations.

Laundromats and ethnic markets can be effective locations for posting
and distributing outreach information.

Partner with ethnic and other media outlets to deliver important
information to LEP community members.

See the description of "Project Echo," a media campaign in Minnesota
aimed at providing timely emergency information to LEP individuals, at
the end of this chapter.

See Section E in Chapter 1, General Tips and Tools, for more ideas on how
to conduct effective outreach to your community and service area.

The City of Miami, Florida call center serves a large number of LEP individuals, and
provides a good example of the types of options available to call centers.

According to Census 2000 data, 47.1% of the population of Miami speaks English less
than "very well." The majority of these individuals are ish speakers, followed by Creole
speakers. These demographics highlight the need for the Miami Police Department's 911
system to ensure that emergency assistance services to Miami's LEP population are meaningfully
accessible.

Miami's call center employs at least 20 bilingual call-takers and dispatchers, four of
whom are bilingual Creole speakers and the rest of whom are bilingual ish speakers. There
are at least two bilingual ish speaking call-takers on duty 24 hours a day because of the
frequency of calls by ish-speaking LEP callers. One of those call-takers screens and handles
emergency calls and the other handles non-emergency calls. Miami also has a contract with a
telephonic interpretation service to ensure that callers who speak languages other than ish
and Creole will also have access to emergency assistance services and to handle interpretation
for additional calls when volume is high.

In addition to the language assistance measures discussed above, Miami has taken steps
to ensure that the continuum of language assistance does not end when the call-taker and LEP
individual conclude their call. When the dispatcher contacts the first or second responders
(police officers, fire department personnel, or emergency medical services technicians) to send
them to the location of the emergency, the dispatcher also informs them of the language needs
of the LEP individual so that the first/second responders include personnel who speak the LEP
individual's language. This enables the first/second responders to assist the LEP individual more
efficiently and effectively by ensuring that language will not be an impediment to receiving
immediate emergency assistance.

Emergency preparedness raises a host of challenges beyond 911 calls, and LEP
communities should be taken into consideration as strategies are developed and updated.
Project ECHO(Emergency and Community Health Outreach), in St. Paul, Minnesota, has done
just that by creating emergency preparedness in and among the diverse language communities
that comprise a large portion of St. Paul. ECHO uses emergency simulcasting on public TV and
radio stations to provide timely emergency information to LEP individuals. ECHO's overall goal
is to change the viewing behavior of LEP populations by getting them to turn to public television
and radio for emergency information. ECHO plans to provide critical information to LEP
individuals during an emergency (e.g., disease outbreak, chemical spills, weather, terrorism),
and identify public television as a reliable source of emergency information.

ECHO will initiate the process with monthly broadcasts, scheduled to air on September
19, 2004. Broadcasts include an 18-minute segment in six different languages -- Hmong, Khmer,
Lao, Somali, ish, and Vietnamese. Each broadcast will focus on a particular theme or issue;
provide background on the issue including an interview with an expert from the particular LEP
population; and will serve as an open forum, using culturally appropriate messages to reach the
intended audience for each language. Subject matters scheduled for broadcast include
influenza education, mental health issues, and fire and carbon monoxide safety, among others.

ECHO has settled on public television as its primary outlet for community outreach
because of its availability to people who don't have cable access and because it has the
potential to reach a broad LEP audience. The launch date for ECHO's website is September 19, 2004.

Law enforcement personnel have contact with the public in a variety of ways. Officers
meet members of the public when conducting routine patrol, responding to requests for
services or assistance, interviewing witnesses or victims, or attending community outreach
activities. While this section does not
purport to address every type of law
enforcement interaction, it does
survey strategies used by law
enforcement to communicate with LEP
individuals in the most common
situations.

Appendix A of the DOJ LEP Guidance for recipients discusses five areas of potential contact with LEP individuals:
A. Receiving and responding to requests for assistance;
B. Enforcement stops short of arrest and field investigations;
C. Custodial interrogations;
D. Intake/detention; and
E. Community outreach.
See 67 Fed. Reg. 41468-69, DOJ LEP Guidance .

Chapter 1 of this document,
as well as the DOJ LEP Guidance
(including Appendix A of that
Guidance, which provides examples
in the law enforcement context),
should be consulted for a broader
description of the ways in which
meaningful language access can be
assured.back to top

A. Assessing Need and Setting Policy

Study your community to identify LEP populations, set policies, and
implement strategies to ensure effective communication.

Always validate projections based on demographic data against program
experience based on the observations of your staff and input from the
community.

Want more info?

The Summit County/Lorain, Ohio Model LEP Policies and
Procedures Committee, highlighted in the box at the end of this
section, is an example of one group using its collective eyes and
ears to assess the "real world" LEP populations encountered by
law enforcement. Contact Isabel Framer, certified interpreter and
one of the co-chairs of the Committee, at isainterp@aol.com.

Include all stakeholders, including community groups and staff representatives, in your planning process for language access.

Distribute your LEP plan to all staff likely to encounter LEP individuals on the job.

Include a list of resources and contact numbers for staff to easily access
language services on the job, discussed in more detail in Section C of this
chapter.

See Section A in Chapter 1, General Tips and Tools, for an in-depth
discussion of how to assess your LEP needs and create a plan to address
those needs.

When hiring and training bilingual officers or other staff, account for
dialects spoken, language nuances, and cultural diversity in your
community.

Training in basic, everyday expressions in another language can be very
helpful. For instance, simple greetings and social language skills can help
enormously in setting witnesses, victims, and community groups at ease and building a bridge of trust. In addition, providing language training to
officers can be a useful tool to enable them to give simple commands
and respond to common inquiries. However, such basic training does
not substitute for the language skills necessary to decipher and express
more complicated concepts, nor does it substitute for the skills necessary
to engage in important communication, especially communication with
potentially serious consequences.

Various universities and other organizations have created
electronic tools to supplement in-person language training. The
University of Texas at Arlington, Center for Distance Education, for
instance, has digitized and made "internet accessible" a state-developed course on "ish for Law Enforcement." The Center
for Distance Education is developing an online program that gives
audio and visual cues; gives cultural training (e.g., teaches officers
about how much personal space is the norm in various cultures);
and uses workplace-specific scripts and street vocabulary

Translated Miranda warnings and other important notices, rights, and
forms could provide convenience and clarity in arrest, interrogation, and
booking situations involving literate LEP individuals. Translation of key
documents can also assist interpreters in providing consistent
interpretation of important law enforcement terminology

Want more info?

The FBI has made certain translations available through its Law
Enforcement Online website for use by authorized law
enforcement entities. For more information, see Section B in
Chapter 6, DOJ Federally Conducted Programs and Activities.

Making full use of existing staffs' language capabilities is one element of an
effective LEP plan, as long as the plan does not require staff to perform tasks
beyond their language skill level.

Make sure that your bilingual staffs' level of competence matches the
need of the LEP persons being served, particularly when a failure to
communicate could adversely impact an issue of importance to the LEP
person.

Encourage officers and other bilingual staff to call in professional
interpreters and translators when needed.

Form constructive working relationships with the LEP communities you
serve by teaming bilingual officers with volunteers from community-based
organizations.

Want more info?

See the featured box on the Haitian Roving Patrol at the end of
this chapter, and contact: Officer Skip Brown, Delray Beach,
Florida Police Department: (561) 243-7873.

See Section B in Chapter 1, General Tips and Tools, for more information on
how to access language resources in your area.

C. Working with LEP Individuals

Arm your officers and staff with effective language tools and access
protocols in order for them to fulfill their duties, and to protect and be
protected, in every language.

Adopt a standard protocol to be used by officers and staff who are not
bilingual when encountering a person who speaks little or no English.

As noted in Section C of Chapter 1, General Tips and Tools, some
agencies use "I Speak______" cards to identify an individual's primary
language and enable the officer or staff to call for a bilingual officer or
telephonic or in-person interpreter in the needed language.

Want more info?

Contact Isabel Framer, certified interpreter and co-chair of the
Ohio Model LEP Policies and Procedures Committee at
isainterp@aol.com or co-chair Sheriff Alexander, Summit County,
Ohio at his office; (330)-643-2181 or TTY: (330)-643-2221.

Create convenient points of entry for the most populous language minority
communities, such as dedicated non-emergency telephone numbers for
ish or other language speakers, or specialized liaison units that
effectively work with the LEP persons in your area.

Consider setting up a dedicated non-emergency number for particular
language speakers housed in the community outreach units of your
police department.

Provide a recorded message in various languages spoken with
frequency in your service area, explaining how callers can access the
services you provide and receive language assistance if needed. Post
this phone number at social gathering places where the target
community congregates.

It is not the plan but the actual delivery of appropriate and competent
language assistance when and where needed that defines "meaningful
access." Don't let the good work done in developing your plans and
policies go to waste by failing to implement them effectively.

Be careful about substituting bilingual ability for the training and
qualifications necessary to interpret accurately and completely.

Certain circumstances may require the services of a professional
interpreter or translator. Management, bilingual officers, staff, and
volunteers should recognize the limits of in-house language assistance
ability, and identify the need to call in professional interpreters and
translators.

In the absence of a professional interpreter, quality control might be
achieved by sending bilingual officers to interpreter trainings set up by
courts and interpreter associations, and test officers' language skills
periodically.

Strive for the highest quality language services in situations in which there
could be serious consequences to LEP individuals.

Timeliness is an element of quality.

Training (or verifying competency) is important, but evaluation and
monitoring are also key components to ensuring quality.

Part of ensuring quality is making sure that officers understand the
languages spoken in the community. For instance, when time to wait
for the proper interpreter is available, a bilingual ish-speaking
officer should not attempt to interrogate in ish an LEP person who
speaks a little bit of ish but whose primary language is not Spanish.

Drive home the point with all staff that failure to communicate
effectively and follow quality protocols not only impedes services to
LEP victims and to the community at large, but also can present law
enforcement with safety, evidentiary, and legal challenges, provide
perpetrators and alleged perpetrators with reason to challenge
investigations, and increase monetary and human costs.

See Section D in Chapter 1, General Tips and Tools, for more information
on ensuring quality control measures and checks. Also consult Appendix
A of the DOJ LEP Guidance for specific information pertaining to law
enforcement.

Outreach to the LEP populations you serve plays an integral role in
implementation and refinement of your LEP plan. When LEP individuals
are aware of the existence of your language resources, they are more likely
to access them to communicate safety and other concerns, and to be able
to assist law enforcement.

Conduct community outreach by using bilingual officers, staff, and
volunteers

Extend community outreach by offering a wide variety of services
important to LEP individuals (such as health or youth-related programs),
hiring bilingual officers and staff, and partnering with volunteers from
community- based and charitable organizations.

• Target resources to specific concerns by following the approach
taken by the California Highway Patrol (CHP), which is involved
in a traffic safety outreach program, El Protector, directed at the
Hispanic community. When starting this program in 1987, CHP
placed special emphasis on educating through dialogue with
the community, instead of focusing solely on enforcement
measures. The goal of the El Protector Program has been to
reduce the disproportionate number of Hispanic drivers and
victims involved in traffic-related collisions. By relying upon
officers and staff that are bilingual and bicultural, agencies
conduct activities designed to educate and encourage positive
traffic safety behavior and to build better community relations
between the Hispanic community and law enforcement
agencies.

Work with community and ethnic organizations to sponsor diversity
training and to train officers and staff on working with LEP individuals.

Partner with neighborhood schools, churches, community groups,
landlord- tenant organizations, and others to provide civic education to
recent immigrants. Use such partnerships to encourage participation in
police and civic activities, enhance understanding of differences between
laws in this country and those of the countries of origin, and encourage
crime reporting and a sense of safety.

Effective communication is a two-way street. In organizing outreach to
LEP communities, try to solicit suggestions on how to make your plan and
its implementation better.

See Section E in Chapter 1, General Tips and Tools, for more ideas on how
to conduct effective outreach to your community and service area.

Storefront in East Dallas: A Focus On Community Outreach and
Inclusion

The Dallas Police Department's involvement with the Storefront project in East Dallas
uses a comprehensive approach to addressing the needs of an immigrant population and
promotes a recognition by police that gaining the trust of community is a major factor in
effective policing. The Storefront is a community-based program that was started to assist
immigrant populations adjust to their community, access municipal services, and help
develop community trust of uniformed police officers. The Storefront began operation in
1985 in response to the large number of Southeast Asian immigrants and refugees arriving in
the East Dallas area. Utilizing non-uniformed personnel to gain community trust, the program
initially provided primarily food and clothing. Over the years, the Storefront has evolved into
a multi-tiered operation serving many nationalities. It still continues to provide the much-needed assistance, but the emphasis is now on proactive crime prevention and community
development, as well as reactive police responses.

Over the last five years, Sergeant Ray Ball has provided leadership by identifying grant
funds that allow the Storefront to tailor its programs and services to the community. The
program implements police initiatives to reduce criminal activity, work with youth at risk,
improve access to healthcare, and create affordable housing in targeted areas. About 80% of
the work done at the Storefront is providing or accessing services; the other 20% is
responding to calls. When these new programs began, Sergeant Ball selected non-sworn,
bilingual police employees and other bilingual persons from the community. Now he has
both uniformed and non-uniformed staff. He also hires community persons as translators.
Officers assigned to the Storefront are able to be creative and resourceful in their daily duties.
The staff includes a sergeant, five sworn officers, four crime prevention specialists, and three
grant-funded part-time bilingual community assistance clerks.

The Storefront is open from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, but often
provides services for evening and weekend planned events. The Storefront hosts various
community and police-related meetings. It offers a Walk-in-Police Assistance Program where
individuals from the neighborhood can make reports and receive assistance, information, and
referrals as needed. The Storefront also provides interpreter services and cultural awareness
sessions, consultation, and training for detectives during investigation. Interpretation services
are available in ten languages - Vietnamese, Thai, Cambodian, Laotian, Mandarin, Cantonese,
Chau Chunese, French, ish, and English.

Challenged by language and cultural differences coupled with alarming Haitian
victimization and the existence of fear and mistrust towards authority, the Delray Beach,
Florida, Police Department, community leaders, and residents joined forces to establish
a community-based initiative to turn this around. In 1995, the Haitians Citizens Police
Academy, believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, was formed. Community
activists and residents from the Haitian community participated in a 10-week program
of instruction on policing, code enforcement, city government, and other important
information. The emphasis was on establishing a positive citizens/police alliance based
on a strong sense of trust, respect, and partnership. The program has been an
overwhelming success, and Haitian residents have embraced the philosophy of
partnering and teamwork to improve their quality of life.

Since 1995, the Delray Beach Police Department has run five Haitian Citizens
Police Academies with more than 200 Haitian residents attending. A volunteer Haitian
Roving Patrol was started with just five members from the first class. The Haitian Roving
Patrol currently consists of 14 Creole-speaking volunteers in marked police vehicles.
They patrol the city's Haitian neighborhoods as well as other targeted areas, and are
used during special events to supplement the regular police force. They are trained in
observation and the use of mobile phones and police radios to call in suspicious activity
for police follow-up. This increases the police presence in these areas, which lends a
feeling of security to troubled neighborhoods. It also facilitates communication
between the police and Creole-speaking LEP residents. In addition, the Haitian Roving
Patrol members appear to have created a new sense of pride in the Haitian community.

According to the Delray Police Department, in 1998 the Haitian Roving Patrol
was responsible for reducing robberies in the mostly Haitian Osceola Park area by 53
percent. They are credited with a 98-percent reduction in armed robberies in the
Delray Square Shopping Plaza during that same year.

This unique program has received considerable notice. The Pew Charitable
Trust highlighted it as one of twelve unique grassroots projects throughout the United
States in a book called Local Heroes Changing America.

Summit County/Lorain, Ohio Committee on Interpreter
Services/LEP Model Program for Law Enforcement:

A Focus on Planning

Based on data from the 2000 Census alone, Summit County, Ohio would not
be high on the list of jurisdictions requiring an extensive program of language
assistance. In 2000, only 5.6% of county residents over the age of five reported that
they spoke a language other than English at home. Of its ish-speaking
community, which comprised only 1.24% of the county's overall population, just over
15% reported that they did not speak English very well or did not speak English at all,
well below the national average for ish-speakers.

Yet in 2000, the Sheriff of Summit County became aware of many instances
when language barriers had impeded the county's delivery of competent, effective,
and timely law enforcement services, primarily when interacting with ish-speaking
LEP persons. Realizing that the demographic data did not accurately reflect the LEP
situation his officers found on the street or in the county detention facilities, and
believing that the LEP problems and language assistance solutions were not unique to
his jurisdiction, the Sheriff worked with the Department's contract ish interpreter,
and the Chief of Police for the City of Lorain, Ohio to organize a committee of law
enforcement officers from several local and state jurisdictions. The purpose of that
committee, known as the Summit County/Lorain Interpreter Services/LEP Model
Program for Law Enforcement Committee, is to identify commonly encountered
situations in which law enforcement personnel interact with LEP persons, and to
develop practical language assistance procedures to ensure that language does not bar
competent, effective, and timely law enforcement.

The Committee leadership also convinced a number of recognized experts in
the area of language services and legal interpretation from around the nation to form
an advisory board to assist the law enforcement professionals making up the
committee. A company that provides telephonic interpreter services is supporting
the work of the Committee by providing teleconference services for advisory board
members who do not live in the north central Ohio area. In addition, the Sheriff
arranged training on the LEP requirements for all his senior officers and command
staff.

The Committee is in the final stages of producing draft LEP policies, practices,
and protocols, including a picture-based communication booklet, flashcard
communication booklet, and "I Speak___" cards for officers on the street, which
serve as models for other jurisdictions. The Committee's approach in combining experts from both law enforcement, as well as the interpretation and translation fields,
is now being evaluated for possible statewide and/or national application.

Chapter 4: Tips and Tools Specific to
Domestic Violence Service Providers and
Specialists

Domestic violence is a public health issue affecting the health, safety, and well-being
of millions of families in the United States. Experts have described domestic violence as a
broad pattern of behaviors that may involve physical, emotional, or mental abuse against
victims. As a result, getting victims promptly linked to services and resources is critical to
ending abusive relationships and protecting the victims. Victims who are LEP face unique
barriers to reporting domestic violence. Their abusers may typically serve as their primary
link to English-speakers if the abusers speak English. In addition to language barriers, LEP
victims, depending on their legal status in the United States, may also worry about the
immigration consequences of coming forward to report abuse. For these reasons and
more, providing competent language services provided by those trained in confidentiality
and ethics is critical.

This chapter provides some important tips and resources to assist entities in ensuring
that victims of domestic violence and their family members have meaningful access to law
enforcement, service providers, and the judicial system. These tips should be read in
conjunction with the General Tips and Tools contained in Chapter 1. LEP coordinators and
decision-makers should also consult the DOJ LEP Guidance, including Appendix A, which
provides examples from the domestic violence context.

LEP individuals in your community may need your help. Do not assume
that "someone else can help them."

All shelters and service providers should be aware of languages
commonly spoken in the community, and develop appropriate
protocols and resources, including collaborating with immigrant
community-based organizations, for responding to LEP individuals
needing language assistance.

When possible, partner with domestic violence service providers that
focus on particular ethnic or immigrant populations. Do not assume
that your organization is "off the hook" on providing language services
simply because some other organization does.

Want more info?

For one approach, see the Washington State Coalition Against
Domestic Violence "Model Protocol on Services for Limited
English Proficient Immigrant and Refugee Victims of Domestic
Violence," prepared in November 2002.

Community organizations have benefitted from hiring and training
bilingual employees to provide direct services. Many have worked with
law students, undergraduate students, community members, and
academics to provide language assistance. Consider hiring professional
interpreters where necessary and appropriate.

If the language services are provided by an interpreter, translator, or
bilingual person, make sure that those individuals are not connected
to the client's community. If those individuals are connected, make
sure that they are trained on confidentiality. In many circumstances,
the interpreter is a member of the community and may know the
abuser or the abuser's family. If this is true, remind the interpreter
that any breach in confidentiality may put your client in danger. This
can be especially important in rural areas where there are fewer
linguistic resources, leading to a natural tendency to find anyone who
speaks the language without thinking about confidentiality. Language
access can be provided telephonically working with trained
interpreters from other parts of the state.

Bilingual academics, students, and community members should be
periodically tested/evaluated for competence in the appropriate level
of bilingual ability required.

Form linkages with other non-profits, community-based organizations
(CBOs), associations, and faith-based organizations serving LEP
communities to promote referrals, sharing of expertise, and
dissemination of information to the linguistic communities in your
service area.

The coalition group TAPESTRI, featured at the end of this chapter,
utilizes the expertise of eight different organizations, with a combined
capacity to communicate in 40 different languages.

Have a dedicated toll-free number providing referral resources for callers
who speak various languages.

Once you have formed linkages with non-profits, CBOs and legal aid
offices in your area, your dedicated phone lines (staffed by
individuals who speak the various languages or can connect to an
interpretation service) can refer LEP community members to service
providers who are equipped to meet their linguistic needs.

Offer courthouse clinics where your staffing capacity permits. Such
clinics are particularly helpful for individuals who could easily file pro se
(proceeding without counsel) but for the language barrier. Have
informational brochures available in multiple languages so that
immigrant victims who come to the court system for help can learn
about the range of legal options designed to help immigrant victims.

Consider posting trained bilingual staff members at local courthouses
to explain court procedures to LEP individuals.

Such an effort requires cooperative approaches with police, courts,
and other service providers.

The New York City Community Response to Trafficking
Program successfully partnered with the New York Police
Department (NYPD) for trainings, resulting in the creation of an
ethnically-sensitive anti-trafficking unit within the NYPD. This
could be replicated for various units.

Contact the Rockland Family Shelter (featured at the conclusion
of this chapter), which has developed and conducted training
programs for police departments concerning victims of
domestic violence. (845) 634-3344; TTY: (845) 634-3119.

Accuracy and effective communication are as critical in domestic
violence situations as in any emergency situation. Do not rely on friends
and family members to interpret for the LEP victim in important and
sensitive interactions.

It is very important to avoid using children as interpreters in domestic
violence cases. Since many children accompany the client to
meetings or at the shelter, police departments, and other services, it is
sometimes perceived as convenient to use children to interpret.
Children can suffer psychological harm from having to hear and
interpret the details of abuse.

Consider adopting a protocol for community interpreters as
described in Section A above.

Be aware of the pitfalls that can result from using untrained, untested
individuals for language assistance. For example, LEP victims could have
their testimony incorrectly interpreted in court. Use only trained
interpreters and translators for situations with potential legal exposure.
The higher the stakes, the more important the use of trained language
service providers.

Conduct intake clinics, answer questions, or simply post information at
such gathering spots. Ask ethnic/ religious/social organizations and/or
community leaders to include information about your program in any
newsletters or other information they circulate within the community.

Contact Anna Laboriel, Director of Satellite Offices, for the
Rockland Family Shelter, which has satellite offices in
immigrant communities and maintains a liaison with houses of
worship attended by LEP immigrant women. (845) 634-3344;
TTY: (845) 634-3119.

The Rockland Family Shelter program in New York City illustrates some of the steps
that can be taken by smaller organizations to locate and provide language access and other
services to LEP victims of domestic violence. The primary LEP populations served by the
Rockland Family Shelter are Asians, Haitians, Hispanics, and Orthodox Jewish speakers of
Yiddish, Russian, and Hebrew. The shelter participates in community outreach by having
materials in several languages that describe the services provided as well as define domestic
violence (for example "not just physical battery"). In addition, documents on legal rights are
available in the shelter in ish and Haitian Creole. The shelter also has satellite offices set
up in immigrant communities, and directors collaborate with local churches to provide
access to immigrant women who seek out churches after arriving from their home country.

The shelter offers special services to LEP persons including weekly ish language
and Haitian Creole support groups. The Asian Community Program, the Haitian Community
Program, the Hispanics Community Program, and the Orthodox Jewish Community Program
(Project Tivka) all employ advocates who specialize in the cultural and linguistic needs of LEP
groups.

Translation and interpretation services are also available. All staff and volunteers
undergo mandatory training for dealing with LEP persons and cultural competency. In
addition, in response to the recent influx of Ecuadorian immigrants, service providers went
into the community and actively recruited volunteers who could assist in bilingual
communication. These volunteers were then trained and briefed on confidentiality
requirements. Advocates also have continual access to interpretation and translation services
in 17 Asian languages and dialects through a joint effort with the Asian Women's Alliance of
Kinship and Equality (A.W.A.K.E.), a local Asian community organization. Members of
A.W.A.K.E. (especially board members) are encouraged to voluntarily assist in bilingual
communication efforts. Bilingual volunteers, though they do not receive much training in
interpretation and translation, are invited to regular meetings where they discuss outreach
and receive some training on domestic violence response.

The Rockland Family Shelter works with both the police department and social
services and has received referrals from all agencies involved in domestic violence response
including clinics, counselors, etc. The shelter develops and conducts training for local police
officers who work with domestic violence. The shelter directors also meet with police
officers and chiefs somewhat regularly to discuss emerging issues in domestic violence
response, including LEP issues. Additionally, police departments are encouraged to contact
the shelter or A.W.A.K.E. when working with a victim who requires interpretation services
that the police department cannot readily provide (usually a Southeast Asian dialect).
However, this service is not used very regularly. Occasionally, when the police department
is

in a tight spot, the shelter provides interpretation services and refers police officers to a
bilingual staffer or volunteer at Rockland Family Shelter.

The Refugee Women's Alliance (ReWA) has used constructive liaisons with police
departments and other organizations as a means of providing services in a broad range of
languages to victims of violence, while at the same time increasing cultural competence in,
and sensitivity to, the issues facing victims of violence.

ReWA's comprehensive range of services for LEP individuals include community
outreach/education on domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking in areas with
significant LEP populations; English as a Second Language (ESL) and vocational classes with on-site child care; an on-site pre-school; support groups for refugee and immigrant battered
women and those at risk of becoming victims of domestic violence; consultation and
training to law enforcement agencies and other service providers likely to encounter LEP
victims; and specialized services to help LEP women understand and navigate the legal
system. Legal services include referrals to pro-bono legal representation, as well as weekly
sessions/workshops with on-site and volunteer attorneys on family law and other issues.
Staff interpreters are available to work with attorneys during these sessions. ReWA has also
implemented a "co-advocacy" program designed to address the problems that can arise
when two or three agencies are dealing with the same client. The "co-advocacy" program
ensures that clients receive comprehensive assistance (e.g., emergency response, legal
action, housing, and other needs), while avoiding duplication of effort and conflict.

The primary LEP populations served by ReWA are East African, East European,
Southeast Asian, and others. Jointly, advocates speak 23 languages. ReWA's Domestic
Violence Program alone has seven advocates who speak about 14 languages, including
Somali, Russian, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Ethiopian, Lao, and Chinese. Interpreters, usually
native speakers of the language for which they provide interpretation, receive extensive
training and are "screened" to ensure that they can read and write proficiently. They also
receive additional training on how to accurately interpret and translate domestic violence
terminology. ReWA publishes brochures in 11 different languages. The available brochures
include a domestic violence brochure (available in 10 languages) for distribution by police
departments. This domestic violence brochure defines domestic violence, explains a
victim's rights, describes ReWA's services, and provides ReWA's contact information. In
addition to the brochures, ReWA also collaborates with the Seattle Police Department to
produce sexual assault education videos in Cambodian, Russian, Somali, Vietnamese, and
Amharic. The videos provide information for victims of sexual assault in ethnic
communities, including an explanation of a victim's rights and the resources available to
assist the victim.

In 1996, a coalition of eight community-based organizations and eight professional
advocates created TAPESTRI in order to combat violence and oppression of women in
immigrant and refugee communities. Coalition members speak over 40 different languages
and serve as advocates for immigrant and refugee families affected by domestic violence,
sexual assault, and exploitation. TAPESTRI employees provide basic case management
services to victims, including writing temporary protective orders, explaining general
domestic law to victims, and where necessary, referring victims to attorneys. All interactions
with clients are conducted with someone in the coalition who speaks the client's language.
In the event that the client's language is not spoken, TAPESTRI hires an appropriate person
who can interpret. TAPESTRI works with clients to obtain medical care, child care,
educational, and other benefits. The coalition recognized that many immigrant and refugee
women faced similar issues regardless of their community, so they developed an
intervention strategy to assist women in confronting violence and oppression.

TAPESTRI's Immigrant and Refugee Coalition Challenging Gender Based Oppression
consists of: 1) The Center for Pan Asian Community Services; 2) the International Women's
House; 3) Caminar Latino which provides a ish hotline, support groups, and advocacy
for Latino families; 4) the Refugee Family Violence Prevention Project of Refugee Family
Services; 5) Women Watch Africa, Inc.; 6) Shalom Bayit/Jewish Family and Career Services; 7)
Refugee Women's Network; and 8) RAKSHA which works with the South Asian community.
Many of these organizations provide counseling to victims, and all provide direct services
including legal referrals. All of these services are in the appropriate non-English language. If
the language is not available, TAPESTRI will hire the services of an interpreter.

TAPESTRI Men's Program was created in 1999, and staff members from this program
have worked with immigrant and refugee men from over 18 countries. This program
provides community education and 24 weeks of family violence intervention lessons for
men in the appropriate non-English language.

TAPESTRI is involved in a number of activities including multicultural training on issues
of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking for mainstream service providers,
professionals, and criminal justice system personnel. Generally, mainstream service
providers consist of local shelters. The training involves general orientation to American
culture by making clients aware of cultural barriers and providing tips on bridging language
barriers in American culture.

For the past few years, TAPESTRI has provided training on immigration and refugee
issues to police officers throughout the State of Georgia at the police training academy in
Forsyth, Georgia. TAPESTRI has developed a course outline and training schedule that meets
the needs of criminal justice/law enforcement system personnel who attend their courses.
TAPESTRI has bilingual and bicultural trainers who train police officers on LEP issues.

Through its community education and outreach program, TAPESTRI educates
refugees and immigrant communities about domestic violence, sexual assault, and human
trafficking. TAPESTRI conducts in-person training and publishes a biannual educational
newsletter on emerging issues of concern to refugee and immigrant women. TAPESTRI has
developed brochures, posters, and flyers in different languages. TAPESTRI has placed these
brochures in various ethnic markets.

Over the past ten years, as the immigrant population has grown, so has the
community of LEP individuals needing access to the courts and other important services.
The population of LEP individuals has grown in number, as well as in diversity, leaving court
administrators and clerks with the challenge of providing timely and effective interpretation
and translation services for an increasing number of different language groups. Despite
these difficulties, state Supreme Court Justices, state officials, clerks of court, and court
administrators have, in many instances, exhibited a strong commitment to providing the
language services necessary to have an accessible and fair judicial system. Many state judicial
systems have found creative, cost-effective means of ensuring that LEP
persons obtain needed court services.
For example, New Jersey and Oregon
court policies provide for interpreters at
public expense for any party or witness
in civil and criminal cases, as well as for
other LEP individuals who need to
contact court personnel at the
courthouse, whether in or outside of the
courtroom. Below we have listed some
ideas from the field on developing an
effective language assistance plan and
policy for your judicial system.

“At a minimum, every effort should be taken to ensure competent interpretation for LEP individuals during all hearings, trials, and motions during which the LEP individuals must and/or may be present. When a recipient court appoints an attorney to represent an LEP defendant, the court should ensure that either the attorney is proficient in the LEP person’s language or that a competent interpreter is provided during consultations between the attorney and the LEP person.” DOJ LEP Guidance , Appendix A, (June 18, 2002).

This chapter should be read in
conjunction with Chapter 1, General
Tips and Tools. Court administrators,
LEP coordinators, and decision-makers
should also consult the DOJ LEP
Guidance.

A. Assessing the Needs of Your Court System and Creating a
Plan

Assess the language capability of your court system and analyze the
existing barriers for LEP individuals seeking court services.

One suggestion is to authorize a committee to analyze your court
system and draft findings detailing your language needs and
recommendations for addressing those needs, including obtaining the
services of a private contractor, if appropriate.

Want more info?

Consult the Oregon Judicial Department's website concerning
the "Access to Justice for All" committee, which is considering
measures to improve delivery of services to LEP and other
underserved populations.

Develop a comprehensive written plan for the provision of services to LEP
individuals, and train court staff on the practices and procedures
contained in your plan.

Many courts have already implemented plans for the provision of
services to LEP individuals. These typically include use of court
interpreters, including measures to ensure their competence and
ethical conduct, training for court staff on how to access language
services, translation of vital documents, and appropriate signage for
LEP individuals, among many other things. One need not reinvent the
wheel to create a viable LEP plan, as some jurisdictions have already
published comprehensive plans.

State court administrators should consider statewide plans that
provide for local level courts to develop their own needs assessments,
policies, and procedures for ensuring access to justice for LEP
persons.

As part of assessing need, keep track of the languages for which
interpreters are requested to determine if changes or additions to your
LEP plan warrant consideration.

Be sure to adjust as demographics change. Such information may
include the frequency with which interpretation services are required
in those languages, and whether the services are requested in civil or
criminal proceedings or in interactions outside of the courtroom.

Keeping track of which languages are most frequently encountered is
essential, and will give a better idea of how to provide appropriate
language coverage. For example, if there is a large LEP ish-speaking community and a very small Mixtec-speaking community,
you may wish to hire a ish interpreter and contract out for
Mixtec interpreting. However, you need to ensure the competence
and ethics of the contractor, since this person may not be subject to
the same rigorous on-going training as an in-house interpreter.

More information on how to ensure competence is located
in Section D below under "Quality Control."

Make interpretation and translation services freely available in civil and
criminal matters.

Some court systems, including the Oregon Judicial Department and
the New Jersey Courts, have policies providing free interpreting
services to parties needing to communicate with court staff,
regardless of the nature of the matter presented. All individuals
seeking services from the courthouse are served. This approach
recognizes the importance of court proceedings, which can
permanently alter the lives of individuals involved in the process.
Implementing an approach of ensuring qualified and timely language
interpretation as needed ensures compliance with civil rights laws as
well as access to justice for LEP persons.

In some instances, federal grants are available for this purpose. The
Missouri State Courts Administration received a 2003 STOP Violence
Against Women Act Grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, which
enabled the state to provide interpreters to assist LEP victims of
domestic violence in filling out forms and seeking restraining orders,
and later in the proceedings, interpreters were to assist during
hearings and trials.

In addition to providing interpreters and translators inside the
courtroom, courts encounter LEP individuals in many settings outside
the courtroom. These could include the court clerk's office, pro se
assistance offices, and many other important aspects of the court
program. After reviewing the most important access points for LEP
persons and identifying community language needs, courts can take
many positive steps to ensuring access to the courthouse for LEP
persons.

See Section A in Chapter 1, General Tips and Tools, for an in-depth
discussion of how to assess your LEP needs and create a plan to address
those needs.

For indigenous languages, the Oregon Judicial Department
coordinates with the Oregon Law Center to identify
individuals who are bilingual in English and an indigenous
language, and it then provides training on the ethics,
protocols, and modes of interpreting.

The Interpreters Office for the U.S. District Court, Southern
District of New York (Nancy Festinger, Chief Interpreter) is a
valuable resource for obtaining information on training,
quality control, and evaluation methods for interpretation in
languages for which certification is not yet available. The
office also has a comprehensive list of interpreters working in
various languages throughout the US.

Other valuable resources for interpreter identification and
training include Bruno Romero, Ohio Supreme Court
Interpreter Services Program Manager, at
RomeroB@sconet.state.oh.us; and National Association of
Judicial Interpreters and Translators Board Member Isabel
Framer at isainterp@aol.com.

If your court or state has developed a training program, advertise and
get media coverage so that you expand the pool of possible trainees.

If you have a limited number of interpreters, consider utilizing
interpreters from nearby larger metropolitan areas.

Pay special attention to scheduling when you bring interpreters from
far away (See Tip 6 below).

If appropriate, schedule courtroom events involving interpreters in a
way that maximizes their time in your court. For example, if two
litigants in different cases both require interpreters in the same
language, schedule hearings, if appropriate, such that the interpreter
will not have to make repeated trips to accommodate both requests.

Recognize that language interpreting is a physically and intellectually
strenuous activity. Plan to have "relief" available for the interpreter
and/or take breaks as needed

Want more info?

Review the New Jersey Judiciary Interpreters Office website to see how courtroom coverage by interpreters is ensured.

Prominently post signs in the non-English languages commonly
encountered in your service area in strategic locations throughout the
courthouse, directing LEP litigants, witnesses, and others to common
courthouse destinations.

Use a telephonic interpretation service to assist LEP individuals needing
assistance in clerks' offices and other offices outside of the courtroom,
or hire bilingual staff.

Partner with legal service organizations to offer self-help centers at
courthouses that may be staffed by bilingual volunteers, bilingual staff
attorneys from legal services organizations, or even bilingual law
students as part of their clinical program.

Publicize such clinics on the radio or at churches, synagogues,
community centers, ethnic markets, and other social hubs.

Want more info?

Consult the Oregon Judicial Department website, concerning a project at the
Marion County Courthouse in which direct services are
provided in ish to victims of domestic abuse.

See Section B in Chapter 1, General Tips and Tools, for more
information on how to access language resources in your area.

C. Working with LEP Individuals and Interpreters

Be aware that witnesses may find the courtroom environment and its
personnel intimidating.

Some witnesses may find the judicial process intimidating. Cultural
or language barriers may exacerbate this problem. Courthouse
personnel, including interpreters, should avoid compounding such
anxiety and endeavor to build trust.

Trial judges can take certain measures to ensure that interpreting in the
courtroom proceeds smoothly. Try the following:

Remind the parties and witnesses to speak clearly into the
microphones. Assure the interpreter(s) that, if they so request, any
unheard testimony can be repeated.

Ask the prosecutor or other parties involved to provide the
interpreter(s) with relevant background information, such as a copy
of the indictment, pleadings, and, particularly in cases involving
scientific or other specialized terminology, any filings or lists that
might include such terminology so that the interpreter can be
prepared.

Before the trial gets underway, establish ground rules for any
challenge to the interpretation to be taken up at sidebar. The
interpreter may have to be included in such conversations. Note that
the party challenging the interpretation has the burden to show that it
was inaccurate.

Instruct the jury regarding the function of interpreters, i.e., that they
work for the court, and not for either of the parties.

Instruct the interpreter that he/she is obliged to inform the parties of
any previous out-of-court contact with the case or the parties.

On the rare occasion when an interpreter requests permission to
speak or clarify (e.g., an inability to hear or understand the witness),
the interpreter should address the court in the third person. For
example, "the interpreter would request the court to instruct the
witness to speak into the microphone."

Instruct witnesses to stop answering if they hear the word,
"objection," and wait for the judge's ruling.

Instruct witnesses not to direct any comments or questions to the
interpreter during testimony.

Instruct witnesses to wait for the question to be interpreted before
they answer and to answer in their primary language, rather than to
fluctuate back and forth between English and their native language.

Witnesses should listen to the interpreter, even if they understand
some English.

Instruct the witness to inform the judge if he or she is unable to
understand the interpreter.

Many such techniques will help court reporters in both LEP and non-LEP situations as well.

Ensure quality of interpreting services as discussed in Section D
below and review Section D of Chapter 1, General Tips and Tools.

Want more info?

Check out the website of the
Interpreters Office for the United States District Court,
Southern District of New York, also available through
LEP.gov.

See Oregon's Unified Court Trial Rule 7.080, which allows the
interpreter to require counsel to provide the interpreter in
advance a list of specialized terms expected to be used at
trial. The list is confidential and not subject to discovery.

If multiple parties need interpreters, assign each individual needing
interpreting services his or her own interpreter.

Establish a courthouse kiosk or other locations with self-help materials,
such as pro se forms translated into non-English languages commonly
used in your jurisdiction.

Note: Not all LEP individuals in your community are able to read or
will have access to the web. To supplement your efforts, provide
recorded information on dedicated phone lines in the languages
commonly used in your community. Helpful information can
include the purpose and location of pro se forms, instructions for
completing and filing the forms, and legal service agencies that may
be able to help pro se plaintiffs.

Want more info?

Consult the Oregon Judicial Department's website, which has
a ish language version of the cite with links to Spanish
language forms used to explain and obtain protective orders
and other documents related to domestic violence.

If a state interpreter certification program does not exist in your state,
create one that requires interpreters to have an appropriate educational
background and training in modes of interpreting, ethics, and cultural
competence.

Courts have typically determined that certification and training
provide the necessary assurance of quality and accuracy. However,
establishing a certification program from scratch may be a costly and
daunting project. Many court systems have solved this problem for
themselves by pooling their resources with other courts to establish a
shared testing and training program for various languages that they
encounter.

Want more info?

See the website of the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) atand the FAQs. The NCSC has established and
administers a Consortium for State Court Interpreter
Certification that includes 31 states. This allows states to share
the costs of developing model formats for tests and testing
forms, hiring experts, and conducting biennial revision of test
forms. See the Consortium's Agreement for Consortium Organization and Operations .

Currently many states, including California, Minnesota, North
Carolina, Oregon, Wisconsin, and many others have
certification programs for court interpreters.

If no certification program exists for a particular language, create an
effective methodology to establish the qualifications of a prospective
interpreter.

Want more info?

The Oregon Judicial Department has a process for qualifying
interpreters when no certified interpreter is available, and has
published the procedure in Chapter 20 of its "Judge's
Benchbook." Consult Oregon's website for more information.

The Washington State Administrative Office for the Courts has
published a colloquy for judges to use in determining an
interpreter's qualifications. Contact the Interpreter/Guardian
line at 360-705-5301 or consult the website for additional
links and information.

The North Carolina Courts have published statewide
guidelines on the use of interpreters, and utilize many state
and some federally certified ish interpreters. Consult the
North Carolina Courts' website.

Provide new interpreters, as well as judges, attorneys and other court
personnel, with training on the interpreter's code of ethics, protocols,
and modes of interpreting (simultaneous, consecutive, and sight
translation) to be utilized by interpreters inside and outside the
courtroom.

Require working court interpreters to have continuing education on
these subjects in order to maintain their certification or qualification.

When new or less experienced interpreters are hired, assign mentors to
assist them in familiarizing themselves with courthouse processes and to
evaluate their performance.

Consider staffing new interpreters to less complex matters like traffic
court, as opposed to a felony calendar.

Want more info?

See King County Superior Court information featured below.

Consult the North Carolina Courts' website for more information concerning its mentoring program
for new interpreters

The administrative offices of the state courts should consider
creating/providing a state-coordinated glossary of legal terms and their
translations into commonly encountered non-English languages.

Using a glossary is a good way to ensure consistent interpretation of
complex legal terminology. Use of a glossary may simplify the
interpreter's job and avoid confusing an LEP witness, who could hear
two different (though presumably reliable) interpretations of a
complex term. To ensure consistent and accurate interpretation of
legal terminology inside and outside of the courtroom, work with
staff, contract and telephonic interpreters, and translators to develop
legal glossaries and translations of legal and quasi-legal forms in the
most often encountered languages, and make such glossaries
available online and in hard copy for general use. In the alternative,
access existing legal glossaries and forms available online and adapt
them to suit local requirements. As glossaries are always works in
progress, solicit ongoing feedback on additions and/or edits.

See Section E in Chapter 1, General Tips and Tools, for more ideas on
how to conduct outreach effectively to your community and service
area.

FEATURED

The Story of Seattle's King County Superior Court Interpreter
Program: A Focus on Quality and Efficiency

When you enter the Office of Interpreter Services in the King County Superior Court
in Seattle, Washington, you are immediately struck by the pictures, postcards, and
memorabilia from various countries that have been brought to the offices by the hundreds
of interpreters who have worked there. There is a room set aside for interpreters to take
breaks and for clients, interpreters, and lawyers to meet in private. These touches may
seem small, but they reflect the larger reality: this office is designed to support a
professional interpretation corps in order to ensure the integrity of the judicial system and
effective communication for LEP persons. So far, the program has provided interpreters in
110 languages.

Martha Cohen, who helps run the program, goes to great lengths to explain that this
is a "low-tech operation focused on quality, not automation." She has yet to find
calendaring software that meets her needs, so the program keeps three sets of hard-copy
documents up to date in more traditional fashions. First, they have a language bank
notebook that reflects the experience, education, and availability of various interpreters by
language. The notebook contains the Interpreter Information Record for each interpreter.
Certified interpreters are used whenever possible. Court certification is available in seven
languages in Washington State: Cambodian, Korean, Russian, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Lao,
and ish. Information on the Washington State court interpreter program can be found
at their website.

Interpreters are asked to attend orientations as well. Interpreters are expected to
follow a code of conduct. New interpreters are used in non-felony cases first, whenever
possible. One of the experienced interpreters on staff goes to the assignment with a new
interpreter and works with the judge or commissioner to ensure that the interpretation goes
smoothly. If the interpretation is in a language the experienced staff members are not
familiar with, they can still focus on the mechanics of interpreting: Is the interpreter trainee
using the first person? Is the length of the interpretation reflective of the length of the
statement being interpreted (understanding that there may be a difference in length that is
caused by the difference in language or a need to describe something for which there are
no direct translations)? Is the interpreter staying focused on the hearing? Is the interpreter
interpreting everything that is being said?

The program also uses 3x5 cards that track every case. Each time an interpreter or
translator is used, the card is updated. Even though interpreters are bound to a code of
ethics, this office goes the extra step to ensure that there is no appearance of conflicts and
attempts to avoid using any particular interpreter to interpret for more than one party or
side of a particular case or in more than one aspect of that case. The program staff also
keep an extensive calendar of all of the interpretations being provided in their jurisdiction
each day. An Interpreter Request Form can be submitted by telephone, e-mail, or walk-in
requests.

King County also provides interpreters for family law facilitations, the protection
order office, and LEP parents of juveniles in all juvenile justice cases.

The Office of Interpreter Services also works closely with judges and commissioners
on an interpreter services advisory committee and provides orientations for new judges
and commissioners regarding the interpreter program and the appropriate use of
interpreters. Scheduling has been a key to efficient use of interpreter funds, and judges and
commissioners are extremely responsive to the need to call cases requiring interpreters
when the interpreters are available. The office also strives to ensure that experienced
interpreters are assigned to cases with newer judges and commissioners.

The New Jersey Judiciary: A Policy of Providing Interpreters
When They Are Needed

The New Jersey Judiciary has
been at the forefront of court
interpretation and translation policies
and practices. The Judiciary provides a
broad range of innovative services to LEP
individuals.

“The integrity of the judicial system relies significantly on effective communication. Without quality interpretation and translation, access to the court system for LEP litigants and witnesses is limited, sometimes with serious consequences. Without effective communication, judges may as well prepare for reversals, law enforcement and prosecutors may as well prepare for cases to get thrown out, and LEP communities may lose confidence in our justice system," explains longtime leader and speaker in the field of court interpreting, Robert Joe Lee, New Jersey Court Executive, Language Services Section, Special Programs Unit.

In 1982, the New Jersey Chief
Justice appointed a task force to look at
how to provide equal access for all
linguistic minorities. The task force took
census data and interviewed judges,
lawyers, and administrative staff in New
Jersey. Three years later, the task force
issued its final report entitled Equal Access to the Courts for Linguistic Minorities , setting forth a definitive LEP
plan/road map, and also began to collect statistics on interpreted events. The most
requested languages identified in the report were ish, Portuguese, Polish, Korean,
American Sign Language, Haitian Creole, Arabic, Egyptian Colloquial, Mandarin Chinese,
Russian, Vietnamese, Turkish, and Italian.

The New Jersey Judiciary has several procedures in place for language assistance
inside and outside the courtroom. An interpreter is assigned at an LEP person's point of
entry into either a court or a court support office, such as the domestic violence unit. If no
staff or contract interpreter is available on site, one is identified from the registry of the
Administrative Office of the Courts in another area of the state and brought in, or contacted
by telephone. On February 26, 2004, interpreting standards were adopted for the New
Jersey Superior Court and for the Tax Court. The standards provide for interpreter
assistance for all persons, including parents of minor parties, for all stages of court
proceedings, intake interviews, and direct service situations that involve court personnel.
Visit their website.

The New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts also provides headsets and
telephonic interpreting equipment to each judicial district. It sets the rates of pay for
telephonic interpreters, monitors quality and, if there is a problem, proceedings are
interrupted and the Office performs an investigation. Newly-hired judges and staff are
trained on an ad hoc basis. There are separate training manuals for judges, interpreters,
and court administrative staff.

New Jersey also provides translations. Formal procedures have been established for
issuing translations to ensure that all forms and informational brochures are being translated
into ish for all parts of the courts, including for domestic violence matters. The
procedures specify how the translation will be issued, what documents will be in ish
alone, and what documents will be in a ish-English format.

The Administrative Office of the Courts is currently identifying all documents that
should be translated, with each office that generates documents being asked to rank
documents to be translated in order of importance. The objective is to produce official
translations of those documents beginning with ish and followed by other languages to
be chosen based on court statistics on interpreted events. The current documents available
online in ish include: "How to Sue in Small Claims Court - Non-Auto;" "Summons and
Return of Service;" and "Financial Questionnaire to Establish Indigency-Municipal Court." In
addition, two professional translators focus on ensuring that translations are done efficiently
and correctly.

In addition to translating court-generated documents, both staff and contract
interpreters are used to sight-translate court documents into whatever language is needed.
At the direction of the court, they are also available for translations of correspondence and
other documents. Staff interpreters who have passed the ish legal translation test may
also perform written translations of a wide range of documents written in ish or
English.

The New Jersey Judiciary currently has staff court interpreters in ish, Galician,
Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish and Ukrainian. In addition, a centralized list of contract
interpreters and language agencies is publicly available through a link on the New Jersey
Judiciary website.

New Jersey takes quality control very seriously. A professional performance exam
for court interpreting is offered in 15 languages (complete information regarding this exam
is available on the website). All prospective interpreters are required to attend a seminar
on the Code of Professional Conduct for Interpreters, which is offered ten times a year.
Interpreters must take the test, if a test exists, in their language pair and, if no test exists for
that language, the interpreter must sign an affidavit saying he or she possesses the requisite
interpreting competency. Newly-appointed Superior Court judges and municipal judges
must attend an orientation offered once a year, which includes information on language
access issues. Municipal courts offer the orientation three times a year for new employees,
and other employees may attend upon request as well. The orientation covers such topics
as "Learn what the Supreme Court expects court interpreters to do;" "Obtain information
on resources for developing interpreting skills;" and "Find out how the court interpreter test
program is managed." By 2003, all judges or court support personnel with any probability of needing to deliver
services to linguistic minorities received an initial orientation. The njcourts.online website
lists information on telephonic interpreting companies as well as operational standards for
telephonic interpreting.

A telephonic interpreting program was implemented in 2001 as an adjunct to the
Judiciary's system of staff and contract interpreters. Operational standards call for use of
telephonic interpretation under certain circumstances when no on-site interpreter is
reasonably available. However, reliance on telephonic interpreter services is authorized
only where (1) it is more fiscally responsible to obtain the telephonic interpreter; and (2) the
quality of interpretation is not compromised.

The New Jersey Judiciary continues to work to refine its comprehensive language
assistance program in the face of the changing language demographics of the state and the
difficult challenges of shifting fiscal human resources. Both its underlying plan and its
approach to ensuring quality control in the actual delivery of services continue to be a
model for other state court systems.

The Oregon Judicial Department (OJD) has a comprehensive program to ensure
access to LEP individuals who require interpreting services both inside and outside of the
courtroom, whether in criminal or civil proceedings. In addition, the Oregon legislature has
enacted measures that require the provision of interpreting services for LEP parents (or for
those who serve in loco parentis) of minors who appear in juvenile proceedings. Oregon
statutes similarly mandate that LEP individuals who appear in administrative proceedings,
including hearings before the Workers Compensation Board, Bureau of Labor and Industry,
Board of Parole, Department of Corrections, and Hearing Officer Panels of the Oregon
Youth Authority.

OJD's programs include measures to ensure the quality of interpreting and
translating services, to inform LEP communities of available court services, to provide direct
services in commonly encountered languages, and to assess and adjust programs to the
changing needs of a diverse and dynamic LEP population.

OJD became a founding member of the National Center for State Courts
Consortium (NCSC) for State Court Interpreter Certification in 1995. The Consortium was
established to help state courts develop and share the costs of comprehensive interpreter
certification programs. It created a readily accessible source of expertise for OJD and
consortium members. Moreover, OJD's participation in the NCSC's Consortium helped
defray the costs of creating its certification program and allowed it quickly to establish a
methodology for assessing the qualifications of interpreters. The Court Interpreter
Certification test screens applicants' language skills in both English and the foreign language,
measures candidates' skills in modes of interpreting , and establishes that candidates
possess the requisite substantive knowledge of interpreter ethics and professional
responsibilities. OJD's court interpreter certification program includes the ish, Russian,
and Vietnamese languages, as these are the LEP communities most frequently encountered
in the courts of the state.

In addition to 16 staff interpreters, the OJD uses the services of approximately 80
certified interpreters, who are sent to particular districts based on the needs of the local
courts. Staff interpreters are sometimes called upon to travel between counties and circuits
in order to better utilize their services throughout the state. To ensure consistent quality
interpreting in the state, judges are required by statute to use a certified interpreter if one
is available. However, even in situations where there is no certified interpreter available
locally, the OJD undertakes steps to ensure that quality is maintained by bringing in
interpreters from out-of-state and even from outside the country when necessary. Certified
interpreters are required to maintain and improve their skills through continued education.
The OJD Interpreter Unit sponsors such events regularly. In addition, judges are provided
with a colloquy that helps them assess the qualifications of an interpreter who is identified
from a list prepared by the Court Interpreter Services Office. It is the policy of OJD never to
use friends and family members as a source of interpreters.

Through its liaisons with community organizations like the Oregon Law Center
(OLC), OJD has tapped a pool of potential interpreters and translators of indigenous
languages who are being trained and
tested on legal terminology, court
protocols, interpreting modes,
professional ethics, and language skills.
The project also includes role-plays and
mock trials at the courthouse, in which
trainees practice interpreting and
receive feed-back to improve their skills.
Moreover, in a proactive effort to
ensure quality interpretation and
translation services for an emerging
population of indigenous immigrants,
OJD has also partnered with OLC to
devise glossaries of legal terms in several
indigenous languages. In addition, OJD
has partnered with the Immigrant and
Refugee Community Organization to
provide three sets of interpreter skills-building training modules for Russian
interpreters.

In an effort to improve access to justice for the approximately 40,000 members of indigenous communities from Mexico and Central America living and working in Oregon, the OLC and OJD embarked upon a pilot project. The OLC/OJD initiative included a training to prepare certified Spanish-English interpreters to work as “relay” interpreters for language minority litigants and witnesses. An example of a “relay” interpretation is when one person interprets between an indigenous language and Spanish and the second person interprets between Spanish and English.

In addition to its interpreter
training and recruitment programs, OJD
uses translated documents as a means
of providing access to LEP individuals. OJD has translated the Oregon Family Abuse
Prevention Act materials into ish, and instructions needed to obtain Temporary
Protective Orders (TPOs) into ish, Russian, Vietnamese, and Korean. These documents
are available in the courthouses and on the OJD Family Law website, which currently
contains the ish language version. The Russian, Vietnamese, and Korean versions will
be posted in the near future. Links to these documents can be found at their website . The
website also contains links to other websites that have translated legal documents, such as
the Oregon Bar Association website, which has ish, Russian and Vietnamese
translations of information about wills, small claims, bankruptcy, and other legal matters.

In the Marion County courts, LEP victims of domestic violence can receive direct
assistance in ish to seek TPO's from an abusive domestic partner. OJD has also
undertaken several pilot projects in which telephone interpreters are used in short non-evidentiary hearings, usually involving LEP persons who speak one of the less commonly
encountered language. However, telephonic interpreting also has been used in the trial of a
minor traffic infraction.

Finally, the OJD has established the "Access to Justice for All" Committee, whose
mission it is to continually reassess OJD's program needs and to make recommendations
on how to improve racial, ethnic, and gender fairness in the Oregon court system. The
Access Committee implements subcommittee recommendations, monitors the progress of
pilot projects, and makes its own recommendations to the OJD for the improvement of
access to service for all those seeking services from Oregon Courts.

Most of this document has addressed recipients of federal financial assistance who,
even before Executive Order 13166, were required by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
to serve LEP individuals. Title VI does not cover federal agencies themselves; it only covers
their recipients. However with the issuance of Executive Order 13166, for the first time, all
95+ federal departments and agencies are also required to develop and implement
appropriate language assistance plans (LAPs) governing their own "federally conducted" programs and activities. These internal federal agency LAPs must be consistent with the
standards applicable to recipients of federal financial assistance.

DOJ houses a wide variety of agencies, from the Federal Bureau of Prisons and
Federal Bureau of Investigation, to the United States Marshals Service, Executive Office for
United States Attorneys, and the Civil Rights Division. In developing the LAP for DOJ, we
faced the same series of questions as many large recipients seeking to develop and
implement a cost-effective plan. Is a single, comprehensive language assistance plan
preferable to a composite plan developed independently by each component? Does the
need for speedy implementation outweigh the potential benefits of a longer, more
reflective period of assessment? Should existing fiscal resources govern the scope of the
plan, or should the scope of the plan determine requests for future fiscal resources? What
implementation activities should be a priority until necessary fiscal resources become
available? The analytical approaches utilized, insights gained, and techniques implemented
by DOJ in developing its LAP can perhaps assist other law enforcement, correctional, and
judicial officials in their search for reasonable, cost-effective, and creative LEP policies and
procedures.back to top

A. Determining Your Organization's Language Needs

Identify your language needs.

Section A of Chapter 1, General Tips and Tools, provides suggestions
for identifying your current LEP needs and preparing for your
projected needs, including tips on accessing census, Department of
Education, and school district data on minority language populations
eligible to participate in your program or activity; tips on determining
English-language ability of non-English speaking populations; and
suggestions for navigating the different data sets available to predict
the varying needs of different language groups.

Organizations can conduct a review or "count" of the number and
type of LEP individuals accessing a program or activity or accessing
services in individual offices/jurisdictions. This approach, while
labor-intensive, provides a detailed picture of the LEP communities
actually served by a particular organization. Such counts need not be
for all offices within a system, or be conducted over an entire year.
The scope and timing of a count can be limited, so long as the offices
chosen to participate, or the length of time over which the count or
census takes place, can reliably produce data of statistical
significance. Control for possible undercounts attributable to LEP
community perceptions of current or past language barriers, and
revise periodically to test for demographic shifts.

Devise a language assistance plan for situations involving the LEP
individuals participating in or benefitting from your program or activity.
Some suggestions include:

Obtain commitment and support by program or office leadership;

Make available senior program or office officials to function as LEP
managers or coordinators;

Establish a planning committee with representation from all levels of
staff (i.e., administrative/technical support staff, budget/information
technology staff, professional staff).

Consult with stakeholders (linguistic community groups, professional
interpreter associations, etc.).

Keep a clear and consistent focus on the nature and needs of LEP
populations to be served;

Adopt realistic standards that you can meet, but do not
underestimate needs or your agency's ability to meet them;

Recognize that there may be no "one-plan-fits-all" approach in
designing a language assistance plan for a large agency with multiple
components/offices. For example, DOJ, which is composed of over
33 different components tasked with different missions and
administering significantly different programs and activities, rejected
the concept of a uniform approach in developing its own internal
LAP. A single LAP may not be viable for your entire agency,
particularly if you engage in a wide range of activities or serve a
geographically large or linguistically diverse jurisdiction.

When creating a plan for a large organization with many sub-components having various missions and types of contact with the LEP
public, outline a series of fundamental language assistance
principles, identify the components most likely to interact with or
impact significant LEP populations, and set component-specific
goals or objectives.

Direct each identified component to conduct its own assessment of
language assistance needs and, as appropriate, develop a
component plan that is consistent with its functions.

• Be sure to follow up and monitor progress so that this does not
simply become a plan to plan. Build in benchmarks and
accountability, where possible and appropriate.

Want more info?

Review the DOJ LAP. Since the
adoption of the DOJ LAP, several components have made
significant commitments to, and progress in, improving
access for LEP persons.

For agencies with multiple components or offices, test-drive a pilot plan
in select components/regions/offices.

A pilot plan can, for example, help you assess the effectiveness of
using a universal approach to address the needs of different language
communities in your agency's different operations/regions or within
a particular region.

Such pilot sites can act as a test bed for resolving questions (e.g., the
impact on organizational mission, the role of English-speaking
officials and staff in monitoring services and benefits in other
languages, the potential for staff/beneficiary confusion or disputes as
to what must be provided, the role of language minority community
outreach, and the real world fiscal costs).

Program officials and staff may be more likely to accept and act upon
the experience and answers provided by their own colleagues in the
test pilot cities. Further, such an approach limits internal confusion
and fiscal waste.

Officials and staff involved in the pilot planning process can become
an internal cadre of potential trainers and mentors available to others
in the organization as they begin to implement LAPs in their own
offices.

Want more info?

Consider the experience of the Executive Office for United
States Attorneys (EOUSA), which was tasked with the daunting
responsibility of bringing 93 different U.S. Attorney's Offices
into compliance with Executive Order 13166. EOUSA elected
to use pilot LAPs to help develop the above-outlined
elements of an effective LAP in the context of a federal legal
office. Among the lessons learned by the EOUSA pilot LAP
participants were that: (1) the level of staff commitment at the
planning stage exceeded expectations; (2) the level of
expenditures for language services at the implementation
stage fell short of expectations; and (3) the inclusion of
language providers and LEP community representatives as
part of the planning process helped improve the final LAP
product. See the EOUSA description featured at the end of
this section.

Don't reinvent the wheel. Build upon the work of others, and then pass
your own work on.

Share among offices within the organization. Many U.S. Attorney's
Offices (USAOs) have informally developed and translated for their
own local use a number of forms, notices, instructional sheets, and
informational brochures into one or more languages. The Executive
Office for United States Attorneys is developing an inventory of these
locally translated documents and plans to make them available to all
USAOs through its website. This allows existing translated documents
to be easily modified or customized by each USAO, and allows
otherwise limited resources to be focused on expanding the number
of documents or languages contained in its internal collection.

Share between different entities with similar missions: The FBI has
translated a number of forms, notices and waivers into a variety of
languages. For example, the FBI's "Advice of Rights" has been
translated into 35 languages or dialects; a "Consent to Search
Premises" form is available in 17 languages or dialects; and its "Your
Rights at Line-up" form is available in 10 languages. To aid the
thousands of state and local law enforcement agencies across the
country, many of which are recipients of DOJ federal financial
assistance, the FBI is making copies of these (and other) translated
law enforcement documents available through its Law Enforcement
Online website for use by authorized law enforcement entities.
Sample documents will soon be available to the public on
LEP.gov.

When you develop and implement your own LAP and associated
tools, consider contributing them to the growing inventory of LEP
resources, including a database like LEP.gov, to assist
other organizations in following your lead.

See Section B in Chapter 1, General Tips and Tools, for more
information on how to access language resources in your area.

Identify how your first receivers interact with LEP persons to determine
language access techniques/devices that should be immediately
available.

Staff members who direct the flow of public access to the services or
benefits you provide are the most likely candidates for interaction
with LEP individuals. Such "first receivers" play a critical role in
serving as your organization's first point of contact with the LEP
communities you serve.

Adopt language assistance procedures and tools that complement
the work of your first receivers. For example, where programs or
personnel rely extensively on the telephone (e.g., hotlines,
emergency response centers, or those receiving telephonic
applications for services or benefits), printed "I Speak______" cards
are of little value. Instead, provide the public with dedicated
language access telephone numbers, language-appropriate
telephonic information, or automate the access process by including
language assistance automatic dialers on staff telephones.
Conversely, where a program or designated staff principally deal with
members of the public in face-to-face encounters (e.g., certain
police, enforcement or service agencies or walk-in emergency
medical clinics), the availability of printed "I Speak______" cards and
translated brochures and application forms becomes much more
important and useful.

Reinforce language access procedures with visual tools and notices that
simplify the communication process, particularly for those staff who are
new or less familiar with your organization's LAP.

For example, you can ensure that employees have telephonic
interpreter access procedures readily available. To accomplish this,
DOJ's Civil Rights Division linked language assistance procedures to
the opening page of its internal network, used by Division
employees only. Another equally effective but decidedly non-tech
approach is used by the Division's Coordination and Review Section,
which has affixed stickers with the number and access code for
telephonic language assistance on the base unit of every staff
member's telephone. Now, when staff members are on the
telephone and wonder how to access interpretative services, the
answer is staring them in the face.

Be sure to supplement visual aids and other LAP-associated
"reminders" with intensive periodic re-training, as emphasized in
Chapter 1, General Tips and Tools. Ensure that staff do not rely
exclusively on information contained in such visual aids because it is
"easier to remember." Staff should be trained on all aspects of your
LAP and should be prepared to anticipate situations where use of
telephonic interpretation services or other expedient methods is not
viable.

See Section D in Chapter 1, General Tips and Tools, for more
information on ensuring quality control measures and checks

E. Conducting Outreach

Meet with ethnic community leaders and post information at ethnic
gathering places.

LAP planning committee members can consider identifying the
service providers and faith-based or other groups most closely
associated with the language communities you serve. Publicize
access efforts to such groups and make translated forms and
brochures available to them for dissemination and posting at ethnic
social gathering places.

Form linkages with your federal partners across program areas to
conduct joint outreach.

You may find that other federal partners experience goals and
challenges similar to yours. For example, federal law enforcement
agencies and USAOs may serve on joint task forces. Consider
holding meetings as a group with ethnic community organizations,
service providers, and professional interpreters/translators on issues
of relevance. Solicit input from such organizations and individuals
regarding outreach strategy.

The Executive Office for United States Attorneys: Piloting
System-Wide LAPs and Doing it Right Locally to Get it Right
Nationally

In 2001, the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA) was tasked with
the responsibility for developing an integrated language assistance plan (LAP) for all 93 U.S.
Attorneys' Offices (USAOs) in the United States and its territories. EOUSA began with a
language resource and language needs survey involving all 93 USAOs, with a particular focus
on the language minority groups routinely encountered rather than the language minority
groups that might reside within the jurisdiction served by each office.

Based in part on the survey, EOUSA selected three pilot districts to develop and
evaluate LAPs, and each was asked to designate an LEP coordinator. The LEP coordinator
from each pilot district was then provided in-depth LEP training and the elements of an
effective local LAP. Following the training, each returned to his or her district and, under the
leadership of the local U.S. Attorney, created an LEP committee to craft the USAO LAP.
Over a period of three-four months, each district drafted and began implementation of its
LAP. At the same time, the EOUSA drafted governing LEP policies and procedures detailing
the common framework and language assistance principles for all USAO programs and
activities.

After a short evaluation period, the pilot district LEP coordinators, the EOUSA, and
the Civil Rights Division's Coordination and Review Section held a series of teleconferences
to discuss the experiences of the pilot districts and to identify any "lessons learned" of
potential value to sister USAOs. These teleconferences led to an updated EOUSA LEP
training program. That training program was then taped and edited for broadcast in June
2004 by the Justice Television Network to all USAOs. Based on this video training and
additional consultations with the EOUSA as needed, the remaining 90 USAOs have
finalized, or are in the process of finalizing, LAPs for their respective districts. The LEP
broadcast tape was also added to the EOUSA inventory of LEP training materials for future
use.

Serving the needs of individuals with limited English proficiency and ensuring that
they have meaningful access to federally assisted and federally conducted programs is a
vitally important project. We created this document to assist you in your efforts to serve
your LEP community members.

We hope that in reading this document you will be able to draw upon the
experiences of others and take advantage of all the resources that are out there. We
believe that one of the most effective ways to ensure meaningful access for LEP persons is
to share successful strategies and available resources. Our goal in developing this
document was to establish a framework for compiling and disseminating techniques and
strategies from around the country for addressing the needs of LEP individuals.

In this spirit, we encourage you to view this document as a starting point in an
ongoing process of striving to develop, disseminate, and build upon promising practices in
the field. We hope that you will find these practices, tips, and tools useful as we all
continue to search for creative and effective ways to adequately serve the needs of LEP
communities. We look forward to continuing to work with all of you as we strive to achieve
our common goal of ensuring meaningful access for all.

To obtain this document in alternate formats, call the Coordination and Review Section at: